News
Rough Sailing for Navy Landing Field
RALEIGH — Thanks to a court order, Washington and Beaufort counties are hanging tough in their fight against a U.S. Navy landing field — although to read some of the published reports, one might get the impression that the area was inhabited only by tundra swans, rather than farmers trying to save their land and livelihoods. The injunction bars the Navy from “directly or indirectly” taking any further steps to develop the field. The judge’s comments suggest that the Navy didn’t do its homework before announcing in 2003 that it was pursuing development of a field where carrier pilots could practice landings far from the congestion surrounding the Oceana, Va. and Cherry Point air stations.