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N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue is in Washington today for a round of meetings with companies and military brass at a national defense industry conference.

Perdue said she wants more troops -- "boots on the ground" -- in North Carolina, Barb Barrett reports. She also hopes to bring more defense work to North Carolina and has been encouraging companies to consider how to transfer their technologies to civilian use as well. Perdue said she met with one small company that plans to relocate to the Triangle and two other companies that are considering North Carolina.

"I want the Army to understand we’ll bend over backwards to help them with soldiers and families and human services needs on their base," Perdue said in an interview between meetings. "We want defense jobs in our state. Not just associated with our bases, but we want all these companies to know North Carolina is a player and we have the workforce and the manufacturing capacity and the sites and the workers they need to meet the demands of an Army contract."

While in Washington, Perdue also met with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke about expanding broadband access into rural areas.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr wants to honor military spouses.

The Winston-Salem Republican sponsored a resolution declaring this Friday to be "Military Spouse Appreciation Day."

Cosponsored by California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the resolution unanimously passed the Senate yesterday.

But Burr is pushing for more.

He has also sponsored a bill that would give military spouses who frequently move on federal orders the same rights to establish residency as their spouse.

"Our military, their spouses and their families are often called on to make frequent relocations, which can be very disruptive to their lives, and it is only fair that we give the same residency benefits to spouses as we do to servicemembers," Burr said in a statement.

That bill is currently before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, where Burr is the ranking Republican.

North Carolinians trust the military and distrust Wall Street.

A recent survey by the Elon University Poll found that around 90 percent gave high marks to the military, small businesses, medical doctors and colleges and universities.

At least 75 percent gave high marks to the U.S. Supreme Court and public schools.

Around 70 percent also trusted organized religion and the White House.

Around 50 percent trusted law firms, banks, T.V. news, Congress and labor unions, though roughly equal numbers had no confidence in T.V. news, Congress, and labor unions.

The military scored the highest, with 3.9 percent saying they had no confidence, 25.8 percent saying they had some confidence, 68.8 percent saying they had a great deal of confidence and 1.4 percent saying they didn't know.

Wall Street did the worst, with 60.4 percent saying they had no confidence, 33.1 percent saying they had some confidence, 2.8 percent saying they had a great deal of confidence and 3.7 percent saying they didn't know.

The live survey of 356 North Carolina residents was conducted April 19-23. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points.

It's hard to measure a legislator's impact.

From the individual votes to the behind-the-scenes support, a state lawmaker can affect a wide variety of issues at the legislature.

As the General Assembly remembers Sen. Vern Malone, we at Dome took a look at a few of the laws and resolutions he wrote in his four terms:

EDUCATING MILITARY KIDS: A 2008 bill entered North Carolina into an interstate compact to help military children enroll in school.

ALLOWING SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS: A 2006 bill allowed school boards to enter into partnerships with developers to build new schools.

CHANGING BOARD OF EDUCATION: A 2009 bill allowed the governor to name another public school employee to the State Board of Education.

HONORING WENDELL: A 2003 resolution honored the founders of the town of Wendell on its 100th anniversary.

LIMITING NUTRIENT OFFSETS: A 2006 bill limited certain nutrient offset payments required of developers whose projects may affect rivers.

In addition, Malone was the prime sponsor of another 39 bills still pending.

U.S. Rep. David Price says earmarks can help with the "Valley of Death."

The Chapel Hill Democrat notes that is the nickname for the period between the initial design of new technology and when it is ready for market.

A number of competitive grant programs help researchers and entrepreneurs with a hot new idea, while venture capital and the Pentagon fund products that are ready-to-go. But in between is a tough period, Price said.

"They get that initial research funding, but then there comes an intermediate period two or three or four years out when their product is not ready to be put on the market, but there are still some development costs," he said.

He said the Pentagon does a good job of funding its own equipment needs through the standard procurement process, while earmarks are needed for military research.

Price asked for 22 earmarks worth $87.5 million for military-related researchers in North Carolina — roughly a third of his requests.

Here are the five biggest local earmark requests:

Returning Soldiers Barracks. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge requested $88 million to build new barracks for soldiers transitioning to civilian life at Fort Bragg.

Fort Bragg Road. Rep. Larry Kissell requested $84.7 million to extend Murchison Road through Fort Bragg. (Reps. Etheridge and Mike McIntyre asked for $35 million.)

Wilmington Harbor. Rep. McIntyre asked for $78 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen Wilmington Harbor.

Cape Fear Locks. Rep. McIntyre asked for $41 million for the Corps of Engineers to repair locks and dams on the Cape Fear River.

Military Readiness. Rep. Kissell requested $40 million to conduct military readiness testing and training activities at Fort Bragg.

As noted previously, Rep. G.K. Butterfield also requested submarines and aircraft carriers for the military that watchdog groups do not consider earmarks.

U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell had a few simple rules about earmarks.

The Biscoe Democrat asked for $530.1 million worth of special appropriations in the federal budget — the most of any member of the North Carolina delegation.

But he said they had to meet a few simple tests.

"They have to be transformative, they have to make a difference and they have to create jobs," he told Dome. "There's no bridges to nowhere, no museums that are not needed. These are things that will make a difference in the district."

More than $327 million of Kissell's earmark requests centered on the military, but unlike fellow Democratic Rep. David Price, he had few military research requests.

"What we were looking at are more finished products," he said. "There's a place for research, but these are more for specific requests."

Although Fort Bragg is not in the Eighth Congressional district, Kissell said many of its personnel live there. He said that his predecessors also looked to earmark money for the Army base.

How much did North Carolina's representatives ask for in military earmarks?

Here is a tally of how many requests for military or defense-related spending the state's Congressional delegation sought in this year's budget.

Rep. Larry Kissell: $327.1 million

Rep. Bob Etheridge: $139.5 million

Rep. Mike McIntyre: $97.2 million

Rep. David Price: $87.5 million

Rep. Howard Coble: $47.4 million

Rep. G.K. Butterfield: $31 million

Rep. Mel Watt: $15 million

Rep. Walter Jones: $14.6 million

Rep. Brad Miller: $10.9 million

Rep. Heath Shuler: $5.5 million

By comparison, here is a list of how much they asked for overall.

Note: Butterfield also included $7.1 billion in requests for national military procurements that would not directly benefit his district.

A military procurement makes up 33 percent of Rep. Walter Jones' earmarks.

As noted previously, the Farmville Republican asked for $43.8 million in special appropriations in next year's federal budget.

That includes $14.6 million for a new control tower at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

Jones also requested $4 million for cancer research that he says would benefit service members.

Military procurements make up seven percent of Rep. Heath Shuler's earmarks.

As noted previously, the Waynesville Democrat asked for $81.5 million in special appropriations in next year's federal budget, according to his own Web site. 

Four of his requests were for military contractors based in North Carolina.

They were $2 million for electric actuators for Navy ships, $1.5 million for remote initiators, $1 million for new treatment of burns and wounds and $1 million for high-speed bearings.

The requests total $5.5 million.