An earmark from three state Democrats would track gunshots in North Carolina cities.

Reps. Mike McIntyre of Lumberton, G.K. Butterfield of Wilson and Bob Etheridge of Lillington have all requested federal appropriations for the SpotShotter GLS system, which uses sensors on buildings and telephone poles to detect gunshots.

The data is then used by police to rapidly track down criminals.

McIntyre asked for $950,000 for the Wilmington Police Department to buy a system, while Butterfield and Etheridge sought a similar amount for Rocky Mount.

"Agencies using ShotSpotter systems have seen gunfire related violent crime rates fall by at least 30 percent, and have a more than a 50 percent increase in gunfire arrests," Etheridge wrote in his request.

McIntyre noted local problems with gunfire.

"In 2008, Wilmington Police responded to 1374 calls for shots fired, with a notably high volume in Houston Moore housing area and The Village at Greenfield apartments, which comprise the proposed ShotSpotter coverage area," he wrote.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is attentive to black constituents, a news report says.

An article in CQ Politics Monday noted that the Winston-Salem Republican has done a lot of "political legwork" on issues important to the black community:

In February, Burr introduced legislation (S 413) aimed at boosting graduation rates for low-income and minority students, an issue on which he has teamed up with Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah , whose district includes Philadelphia.

He has been involved in efforts to combat sickle cell disease and to reauthorize the Healthy Start program, which is designed to reduce infant mortality and the number of babies born at low weights. Both issues disproportionately affect African-Americans.

The article also notes that Burr has helped get federal money for Central Piedmont Community College, N.C. Central University, a community center in Rocky Mount and a sewage treatment plant in Durham.

In 2004, only 12 percent of his votes came from black constituents.

Hat Tip: CitizenOpinionated

The urban mayors have their wishlist ready.

The N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition released a list today with $2.8 billion in infrastructure projects they said could be started immediately.

The list includes new buses for the city of Raleigh, fire stations in Greensboro and Cary, light rail enhancements in Charlotte, a public library renovation in Chapel Hill, and repairs to sidewalks, water and sewer lines and parks around the state.

The group said it hopes to persuade the state and federal government to direct some of a planned economic stimulus package to local government.

"Our goal in releasing this list is not to advocate for individual projects, but to show cities' ability to deploy the stimulus money quickly on important local infrastructure projects," said Rocky Mount Mayor David Combs, co-chair of the coalition's economic development committee.

The nonpartisan coalition was founded in 2001 and represents the state's 26 largest cities.

Update: The list does not include a request for $20 million in Community Development Block Grants for a "minor league baseball museum" in Durham that was included in a wishlist from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

That project and others have been criticized as pork by some critics.

Correction: The group recently changed its name from the N.C. Metropolitan Coalition. 

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark is in North Carolina for Barack Obama.

The one-time Democratic presidential candidate appeared at a National Guard Armory in Monroe today and will speak at a Java Express in Sanford and a library in Rocky Mount Wednesday.

Bill Clinton is coming back.

The former president will stump for his wife's presidential campaign in North Carolina on Friday, holding "Solutions for America" events in Roanoke Rapids and Rocky Mount.

The latter event will be at 9 p.m. at N.C. Wesleyan College.

On Saturday, he'll travel to Greenville, Wilson, Goldsboro, Kinston, New Bern and Jacksonville.

The Wilson event will be at 11:30 a.m. at Barton College. 

Further details on the trip are not yet available. 

All events are free and open to the public. 

The Golden LEAF Foundation has plans for a $3.6 million building.

In November, the economic-development nonprofit bought four acres off Highway 64 in Rocky Mount for $1.1 million. Since then, it's held meetings in a small cabin on the site and allowed community groups to use it several times a week.

In June, the nonprofit's board of directors signed off on plans for a 10,000-square-foot building by Rocky Mount architectural firm Oakley Collier & Associates. The preliminary estimate is $2.5 million.

"We have not signed off on the final budget," said president Valeria Lee.

The nonprofit, which awards grants from the state's tobacco settlement, currently rents a 4,465-square-foot building in downtown Rocky Mount for $5,911 a month. At the end of June, its endowment was around $700 million.

Lee said it was planning to "really sink its roots" into Rocky Mount.

Some say the attorney general from Rocky Mount might make a good Senate candidate.

No, not Roy Cooper. Not even North Carolina.

The long-serving attorney general of Georgia, Thurbert Baker, has been in the news as a possible senatorial candidate there in 2008 or gubernatorial candidate in 2010.

According to the Carolina Alumni Review, Baker won't rule out either:

"I can't stop people from talking," he said. "We'll see what happens down the road."

Meantime, Cooper once again said today that he's not interested in running against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, no matter what pollsters and Washington-based reporters say.

"I want to be attorney general," he said.

The session isn't over yet, but candidates are already gearing up.

Former Nash County commissioner Randy Stewart sent Dome a press release this weekend announcing that he will run for the House in District 25.

That seat is currently held by Rep. Bill Daughtridge, a Rocky Mount Republican who is running for state treasurer.

Stewart, a Democrat, was a three-term county commissioner and works as a physical therapist.

His father, C.P., served in the state House in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Stewart considered running for the seat in 2002, when Daughtridge was first elected.