Robert Peterson considers himself an old-fashioned blogger.

A life sciences researcher in Chapel Hill, Peterson started out blogging for The Daily Kos, where he first learned about BlueNC in 2005 when he saw a piece crossposted by James Protzman. 

"At the time, I thought it was this well-established Web site," he said. "It wasn't until some time later that I found out that I was user No. 14."

Peterson, 37, started out writing about health care, something he knew about from a stint as vice president of Health Care for All's North Carolina chapter. As a volunteer for John Edwards, he also wrote a lot about that campaign.

When that ended, Peterson became interested in the race for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

He says that the main contributors to BlueNC agree on a few basic principles: They support increasing health care coverage for the uninsured; they think No Child Left Behind should be changed or scrapped; and they opposed the proposed landing field in Eastern North Carolina.

The one area where they disagree: Which candidates to support.

BlueNC has come of age.

Started in 2006, the liberal group blog has had its moments in the political spotlight: Helping Larry Kissell's unsuccessful Congressional campaign in 2006, targeting a proposed Navy landing field on the coast, breaking the news of Senate candidate's Jim Neal's sexual orientation in a live blog.

But none will be as big as next week's live online debate between Democratic gubernatorial candidates Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue.

The debate will be notable in a few ways. Moore and Perdue have only squared off a handful of times in this campaign. It is also certainly a historic first for two gubernatorial candidates to debate online. And it marks a milestone in the growing power of the netroots in North Carolina.

Dome is working on a dead-tree story about BlueNC's role in the Democratic primary. We're interviewing readers and contributors of the site in an open thread here and have started a profile of co-founder James Protzman here and an FAQ on the site here.

If you have thoughts on the site, please share them in the comments below.

The U.S. Navy said today it will study two sites in northeastern North Carolina and three in Virginia for a landing field where aircraft carriers pilots can practice takeoffs and landings.

The Navy said it was abandoning further consideration of its preferred site, which straddles Washington and Beaufort counties near a national wildlife refuge, reports Wade Rawlins. That site drew vigorous opposition from many local residents, environmentalists and the state's top political leaders.

The sites in North Carolina to be considered are Hale's Lake in Camden and Currituck counties and Sandbanks in Gates County.

They are within about 50 miles of Naval Air Station Oceana, where the fighter jet squadrons would be based.

But local officials in both counties as well as state leaders have expressed opposition to locating the airfield in the counties.

State Senate leader Marc Basnight of Manteo issued an immediate statement vowing to continue to oppose the sites.

"For nearly a decade, Senator Basnight has opposed the Navy's efforts to build an OLF in northeastern North Carolina," said Schorr Johnson, a spokesman for Basnight. "He has said that locating an OLF in a rural, economically distressed is absolutely unacceptable. With today's disappointing news, Senator Basnight vows to continue to fight on behalf of families who have worked this land for generations."

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole said she was discouraged by the Navy's failure to consult with local leaders in Camden, Currituck and Gates counties. She said she would oppose the Navy's efforts to acquire any site that lacks broad local support.

The Navy plans to gather public comments in the spring on the sites.

North Carolina’s governor and two U.S. senators told the Navy Tuesday that local support is essential to placing a proposed practice airfield in the state.

They suggested that a site closer to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point might be more acceptable, reports Wade Rawlins.

"We take the position that if an outlying landing field were to be located in North Carolina, the Navy must work more effectively to secure the general support of the local population,“ Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr and Gov. Mike Easley wrote in a Dec. 4 letter to Donald Winter, secretary of the Navy.

“And we see little purpose in your pending announcement of a narrowed list unless the issue of economic benefits for the affected communities is squarely addressed.”

The Navy wants to build a $230 million training airfield in a remote area for fighter pilots to simulate night landings on aircraft carriers.

Read more after the jump.

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* Former Young Democrats leader Jay Ottivore officially announces he's running for the nomination to face U.S. Rep. Howard Coble. (Capital Beat)

* U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole says Gov. Mike Easley's request for more alternatives to a Navy landing field is "bizarre." (New Bern Sun Journal)

* U.S. Rep. Mel Watt says the fact that no one likes a bill cracking down on mortgage lenders "may be the best tribute of all." (AP)

* At debate, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton says John Edwards' attacks are "throwing mud" and "right out of the Republican playbook." (NYT)

Gov. Mike Easley said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is letting down North Carolinians.

In an unusually sharp exchange, the Democratic governor attacked the Republican senator for not listening to local opposition to a proposed outlying landing field in Eastern North Carolina.

"The people in Gates and Camden Counties do not want the OLF, therefore I do not want the OLF in Gates and Camden," Easley said in a prepared statement. "It is time for Elizabeth Dole to learn that she represents the people of North Carolina, including those counties."

The Easley administration has worked with the Navy to develop a list of six alternative sites, but on Wednesday he asked the Navy to look at more alternatives.

Sens. Dole and Richard Burr responded by saying that they do not think the Navy should look at any more sites, but should make a decision from the ones it has already considered. (N&O)

Clarification: Sens. Dole and Burr were responding to a letter Easley sent earlier in the day, not his statement about Dole. 

* On his fourth trip to Robeson County since last spring, state Treasurer Richard Moore says he never heard of bagels or egg rolls growing up. (Robesonian/AP)

* In unusual move, State Rep. Rick Glazier, a Democrat, backs Fayetteville City Council candidate Larry Clubine, also a Dem; his aide is Clubine's wife. (Fay-O)

* Jim Neal says in Senate he would set benchmarks on Iraq, oppose Outlying Landing Field, back SCHIP expansion and be more fiscally responsible. (GN-R)

* Former U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor hasn't told the National Republican Congressional Committee whether he'll run against Rep. Heath Shuler in 2008. (Char-O)

Correction: An earlier version misstated Clubine's affiliation. 

* Mecklenburg County works out system for helping the homeless vote after county commissioner challenged hundreds of voter registrations. (Char-O)

* Two Republicans on global warming panel clash: State Rep. Charles Thomas says time for action, Sen. Robert Pittenger says "We don't have the facts yet." (AC-T)

* Senate leader Marc Basnight says "untruths" have built distrust between state officials and Navy leaders who want to build a landing field here. (AP)

* Friends of the Earth Action, a national environmental group, will begin airing radio ads in support of John Edwards in New Hampshire. (AP)

The Navy has agreed to look at six alternative sites in North Carolina for a practice airfield it has been wanting to build near a wildlife refuge in the eastern part of the state.

The sites, which state officials asked the Navy to consider, include two in Gates County and two in Camden County in northeastern North Carolina. Those sites are near the Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va., where most of the squadrons using the landing field would be based, reports Wade Rawlins.

Also on the list: a site at the Angola Bay gameland, on the border of Pender and Duplin counties, and a site at Hofmann Forest, on the border of Jones and Onslow counties. Those two sites are in southeastern North Carolina.

State environmental officials and Navy representatives made a joint presentation today regarding the sites to an advisory committee appointed by Gov. Mike Easley.

Navy officials plan to review the alternatives and decide within the next 60 days whether to do in- depth environmental studies of any of them.

Read more after the jump.

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The Navy is considering a number of alternative sites in North Carolina and Virginia for a new landing field.

The Fleet Forces Command plans to submit a report to the Secretary of the Navy today for review. The sites are being considered as alternatives to a controversial location near a wildlife refuge Washington and Beaufort counties.

Meantime, Gov. Mike Easley announced Thursday that he is reactivating a panel to examine the economic and environmnetal aspects of the sites under consideration. The group will meet Tuesday.

"I expect the group to help the Navy in its effort to assess sites under consideration," Easley said in a prepared statement. (N&O)