The U.S. Navy is going to halt bombing exercises at Vieques Island in Puerto Rico. Stopping the exercises has become a popular political cause in Puerto Rico and among leftist activists. The live fire training will be moved to four other sites in North America, where the locals are not so adamant about such military training. The Vieques Island protests are thought to be partially inspired by real estate developers who want to build tropical resorts. The good weather down there was one reason why the navy used Vieques Island, as there were fewer days when training had to be halted because of the bad weather (and greater concern for range safety.) The protests did little to make Puerto Ricans popular in the continental United States, where dozens of live fire ranges also exist and the Americans living around those sites could not understand what the fuss was all about.