Wind power along coastline?

GEORGIA: Obama administration pushes for wind power along the East Coast

The administration is putting wind energy development along the Atlantic coastline as a major priority in its search for energy alternatives. It also wants to update the studies on off-shore oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.

"We know we have huge wind energy potential” in the Atlantic, Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters afterward. “This will be a high priority for us.”

However, the prospect of drilling off the coast of Georgia has pitted environmentalists and many coastal property owners against the energy industry and politicians who support more offshore drilling.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State employee furloughs blocked by Legislative Council

ARKANSAS: House approves ban on absentee lobbying

FLORIDA: Lawmakers want new study of tri-state river system

KENTUCKY: Severe storms spreading across the state today

LOUISIANA: State's $102 million computer upgrade on hold due to budget

MISSISSIPPI: Federal prison opened in state by Corrections Corporation of America

NORTH CAROLINA: House passes ban on smoking

SOUTH CAROLINA: Gov. Sanford to ask for stimulus funds but wants to strike a deal on spending them

TENNESSEE: TDOT to pay $5.7 million to state for wetlands replacement

VIRGINIA: Mike Huckabee exhorts state GOP to rally votes for governor's race

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