WASHINGTON, 10 December 2002 — Endless blasts near US Vice President Dick Cheney’s house in the Massachusetts Avenue Heights have sent shock waves among people living in the neighborhood, the Washington Post reported yesterday. “They’re tired of the daily blasting at the Naval Observatory that has shaken houses, rattled windows and knocked mirrors off the walls,” the paper said. None of the neighbors object to any construction that is necessary in the Navy’s view, said Nancy Nord, a community activist who lives on Observatory Circle. The blasts, which last three to five seconds apiece, have been going off two or three times a day — as early as 7 a.m. and as late as 11 p.m. — for nearly two months, residents say. But neighbors have received so little information from government officials about the top-secret project that speculation is running wild. The leading theory: A security bunker is being built for Vice President Cheney. The second most-popular guess: The government is digging tunnels to spy on nearby embassies. In third place: A helicopter hangar is under construction.