Gov. Mike Easley is fast-tracking infrastructure projects to boost the economy.

In an announcement today, Easley said he will put more than $700 million in capital improvement projects on the front burner, including education and public safety projects.

"North Carolina is holding her own in job creation but we are not immune from national economic trends, which means we have to take aggressive steps to minimize any hardships," he said.

The following projects will be put on the Council of State's Jan. 6 agenda for approval:

* Colleges: Construction at East Carolina University, Elizabeth City State, A&T State, N.C. School of the Arts, N.C. Central, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Greensboro: $477.2 million.

* Prisons: Women's health and mental health facility, $45.2 million. Minimum security additions in Scotland, Bertie, Tabor and Lanesboro: $63.9 million.

* Agriculture: Agricultural centers and farmer's market expansions: $11.8 million.

* Ports: Construction in Morehead City and Wilmington: $7 million.

* Environment: Oyster hatchery: $4.3 million. Polar bear zoo exhibit: $2.7 million. Green Square complex: $107 million.

* Cultural resources: CSS Neuse building: $2.9 million. 

State Rep. Deborah Ross has her eye on education.

The Raleigh Democrat says her biggest goal for the budget is a raise for teachers and state employees, though she did not have a specific amount in mind.

"I don't want to give a number because then they'll be mad at me because I didn't say a high enough number," she said. "I'm hoping that we can do as well as we did last year."

In the 2007-08 budget,  teachers, UNC faculty and community college instructors received a 5 percent increase, while most state employees got a 4 percent raise.

Ross said she also hopes to land the rest of the funding for the Green Square project in downtown Raleigh, increase the contribution to the Housing Trust Fund to $50 million a year, add consumer protection measures on foreclosures and put a transportation bond before voters.

She also wants more funding for domestic violence shelters and other changes. 

"We want to reduce the number of violations of domestic violence protective orders you need before it's considered a felony," she said. 

Wake County did pretty well in this year's budget.

The capital projects list includes $25 million for the Green Square project in downtown Raleigh, $17 million for planning of a new Jim Hunt library on Centennial Campus and $627,281 for a State Capital Visitors Center, among other things.

Rep. Deborah Ross credited several factors for the money.

First, the Raleigh Democrat served as a conferee on capital improvements, giving Wake a strong voice in the process. But she said it also helped that people like former Gov. Jim Hunt were pushing for the different projects.

Also, she said that House Speaker Joe Hackney was more concerned whether a project had matching funds and how detailed plans were than previous speakers.

"There was more funding based on merit and less based on giving people perks," she said.