U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole was one of several North Carolina lawmakers who didn't attend President Bush's final State of the Union address.

Rep. Sue Myrick, a Republican from Charlotte, said she had attended every other one since being elected, but opted to watch this one from her Washington home.

"She just wanted to go home and watch it on television, and the view is actually better on television than on the House floor," her spokesman, Andy Polk, said Tuesday.

Rep. Walter Jones, a Farmville Republican, watched it on television as well.

Democratic Reps. Brad Miller of Raleigh and David Price of Chapel Hill didn't attend either. Miller was ill and Price's wife was retiring from the nonprofit she runs.

Dole's office said she missed the State of the Union for the first time since being elected. She had agreed to speak at the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association's annual dinner in Chapel Hill before the date of the speech was announced.

"It's one of the largest associations in the state and Senator Dole wanted to keep her commitment to them," said Dole spokeswoman Amy Auth.

Local environmentalists are looking to President Bush to talk about clean and renewable energy tonight during his final State of the Union address before Congress.

Bush has plans to talk about domestic production of energy, according to the White House.

Margaret Hartzell, field organizer for Environment North Carolina, said Bush should push to include business tax incentives for clean energy in the economic stimulus package now being discussed by Congress, reports Barb Barrett. The incentives, for businesses that use solar, wind and other clean energy, are set to expire at the end of 2008.

Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a Salisbury Republican, has signed onto a letter from Sen. Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington, urging the Senate to continue the incentives.

Hartzell said in an interview today that she also hopes Bush pushes Congress to set a standard on renewable energy, much as North Carolina did last year in passing a state standard.

“We hope the president comes out strongly on ending global warming,” Hartzell said.