In watching the news tonight, it appears that Virginia Beach officials were not surprised by the decision of the Inspector General regarding Oceana. In a letter signed by Senators John Warner and George Allen and Representative Thelma Drake, Beach mayor Meyera Orberndorf was warned that the failure to condemn some 3,500 homes around the base would result in this action.
Beach officials are not too worried, however. Relocation of the jets to the now-closed Cecil Field in Jacksonville seems in doubt. Jacksonville doesn’t want the jets. They have until the end of the year to make up their minds. If Jacksonville doesn’t take them, it is likely that the master jet base will remain at Oceana, or so says local officials.
Here is an interesting comment left on the Pilotonline site about the possibility of the jets being moved to Jacksonville:
We knew it before you did
We in Jacksonville knew somtime ago that you[r] plan would be turned down; but first our city had to rewrite the zoning regulations to give DOD some proof that we love the jets and give them a show-and-tell for your politicians. Of course, when the regulations go in effect our property values will go to rock bottom, not to mention our personal property rights. Your planners made the mistake of believing our politicians on not wanting the jets at Cecil. It was all a ruse. You fell for it. When the jets start to arrive here, I’ll move to Oceana. Great flounder fishing around the Bay Bridge Tunnel.
– Richard Clements – Jacksonville
Now, that’s interesting.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 