U.S. Rep. Mel Watt is seeking $179.7 million in earmarks.

The Charlotte Democrat released his list of 66 requested appropriations for the federal budget on his Web site.

The largest request is for $30 million to expand Charlotte's Lynx light rail system. The smallest is for $127,849 to research the use of Nigella sativa in treating and preventing breast cancer.

Other notable earmarks:

* Funding a National Textile Center at N.C. State University, $16.5 million.

* Research regenerative medicine for wounded soldiers, $10 million.

* Widen Interstate 85 in Davidson and Rowan counties, $10 million.

* Research cattails as an alternative biofuel source, $2.5 million.

A BlueNC blogger is defending Sen. Walter Dalton's spending bills.

Noting the recent attack by the N.C. Republican Party on Dalton's $277 million in requested appropriations, BlueNC blogger Blue South writes that only the $14 million for the Cleveland Correctional Center is directed at his own district:

Now Linda Daves has attacked Dalton for Pork spending, but if you look of the 277 million, only 14 million would directly benifit Dalton's district, while many would benefit his along with every other rural district in the state. And there is of course no gurantee that bill will get passed or folded into the budget.

Blue South also writes that the bills would benefit "education, jobs and biofuels."

Sen. Janet Cowell is seeking nearly $76 million in state spending.

The Democratic nominee for state treasurer has sponsored one bill and co-sponsored 24 bills seeking appropriations in the upcoming state budget.

Cowell is the primary sponsor on a bill to give $2.1 million to the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences for an environmental education facility at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation.

Among the larger appropriations bills she is cosponsoring: $25 million for a school construction pilot program, $6 million for the Communities in Schools programs on dropout prevention, $5.8 million for the Center for Bioenergy Technologies, $5.6 million for the N.C. Museum of Art, $5.6 million for dropout prevention, $5 million for a strategic plan on biofuels, $5 million for public libraries.

Other large appropriations she is cosponsoring: $4 million for a statewide study on aging, $2 million for the N.C. Arts Council, $1.6 million for a pilot program on dropout prevention in Durham and Vance counties, $1.5 million for a pilot program on adult protective services, $1.4 million for water resource management, $1.2 million for teen pregnancy prevention and $1.2 million for Wake Tech Community College.

She is also cosponsoring bills less than $1 million: Support for caregivers of people with dementia, a statewide literacy program, Kids Voting, treatment of autistic children, services for the developmentally disabled, a legal mediation network, a youth golfing program and the African-American Heritage Commission.

In addition, she is cosponsoring a bill that would give state employees a 7 percent raise.

Update: Her Republican opponent, Rep. Bill Daughtridge, is seeking $19 million in spending.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge announced the birth of another grandchild.

Cameron Elizabeth Etheridge was born in Raleigh Tuesday to Etheridge's oldest son, Brian, and his wife, Meredith. She weighed 8 pounds and 8 ounces and measured 21 inches.

The Lillington Democrat and his wife, Faye, already have two grandchidlren.

Coincidentally, the Congressman shares his Aug. 7 birthday with the family's newest addition.

"There could not be a nicer gift than a granddaughter on your birthday," he said in a press statement.

Etheridge was in Raleigh Tuesday to learn about biofuels research at N.C. State.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge is promoting North Carolina ethanol.

The Lillington Democrat was in Raleigh today, visiting a lab at N.C. State's Centennial Campus that aims to produce the biofuel from poplar trees.

Currently, corn is the most cost-effective source, but Dr. Vincent Chiang believes that by genetically modifying the trees, he can make them competitive.

Etheridge said that that cellulosic ethanol could help reduce dependence on foreign oil.

"The young drivers are more likely to accept it," he said. "But as it becomes more available, I think all drivers will accept it because Americans want to wean themselves off the Middle East."

On his way out, Etheridge told Chiang that he is "as important as our top generals" to national security.