Dominion filed its annual proxy statement last night - right after the Governor made his amendments to the massive overhaul of utility laws in Virginia.

The statement has the details of the pay packages for the top executives and board of directors. It breaks down changes in major policies, board shifts and proposals for Dominion's annual meeting that shareholders can vote on.

Some highlights:

- Dominion had last year's meeting in Richmond, but it will be in Boston this year on April 27.

- Former Dominion CEO Thos. E. Capps, who has been chairman since 2001, is not seeking a return to the board. He will be replaced as chairman by Farrell after the annual meeting.

- CEO Thomas F. Farrell, II, was granted $7.3 million in total compensation in 2006.

- Farrell's more unique perks included almost $37,000 for personal use of the corporate aircraft. Added with financial planning, a "health and wellness allowance" and club fees, the extras added up to more than $83,000 for Farrell.

- Two shareholder proposals will be voted on: One seeks a report on how Dominion plans to deal with expected carbon dioxide emissions. The other proposal wants a report on the major power line Dominion wants to build through Northern Virginia.

- Besides Capps, three other board members aren't seeking re-election to the board: Richard L. Leatherwood, S. Dallas Simmons and Ronald J. Calise

While Gettysburg's new nemesis is housing, a site in Alabama's Mobile Bay is suffering from neglect and a lack of state funding, and vast tracts of land stretching from Virginia to Pennsylvania are at risk from a planned major power line, the Civil War Preservation Trust said in its annual inventory of endangered battlefields.

Energy independence may be a long way off for the United States, but the mayor of Warrenton believes he can achieve it for his rural town of 8,000 before he leaves office in 2010.

Mayor George B. Fitch said he'll put the town on a "low-carbon diet" by building a $30 million plant at the county dump, which would take garbage, construction waste, agricultural residue, manure and other "biomass" and turn it into electricity and ethanol. He said the plant would generate 10 million gallons of ethanol a year and enough electricity to power every house in Warrenton with minimal greenhouse gas emissions and no fossil fuels.

He said he believes he can do it without raising taxes or taking on debt and said it could even earn the town a modest profit.

Culpeper County Board of Supervisors yesterday went on record opposing Dominion's recent decision to bring the 500 kilovolt lines along existing right-of-way though the Jeffersonton area, unanimously passing a resolution to that effect.

The Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors unanimously opposes Dominion Virginia Power Company's plan to build a new high-voltage power line across the county and will vigorously fight the proposal, County Administrator John McCarthy told a packed meeting Monday evening.

The bill guarantees Dominion a healthy profit margin, at or above the average for the industry regionally. Utilities can make even more profit - collected from customers - if they build new generating plants...

Dominion is among the biggest of all donors in the state and has given legislators millions of dollars. It's impossible not to wonder: Does the enthusiasm for Dominion's agenda correspond to the level of Dominion's generosity?