Massachusetts
Massachusetts homeowner struggling to sell her $1M house over noisy feud with Pickleball players at nearby club
A Massachusetts homeowner claims she has failed to sell her $1 million Cape Cod home for eight months due to the noise from the newly installed pickleball courts from a nearby country club.
Judith Ann Roan Comeau says she listed her Sagamore Beach home and expected it to be sold within 30 days like other similarly priced homes in the neighborhood, but was surprised to find it still on the market over half a year later.
“We have a beautiful view of the bay, we have beautiful gardens, and we’re so close to the beach,” Comeau told Boston.com. “There was something wrong.”
She listed the three-bedroom, three-bathroom property for more than $1 million before she was forced to remove her listing on Aug. 10, the outlet added.
Comeau alleges that the pickleball courts at the Sagamore Beach Colony Club, a 100-year-old private tennis club, were “snuck in during COVID” and placed 30 feet from her property line are the culprit to her unsellable house.
With the home on the market for eight months, Comeau says she had over 60 people view the home, including many coming back for a second look.
“Each time, no matter what time it is, someone is playing PICKLEBALL,” she wrote on Facebook.
“They refuse to use quiet balls or paddles (the members don’t enjoy them as much), will not limit the hours, said only 1 court, now added another,” she railed to the “Pickleball Noise Relief” Facebook group.
The Facebook group is dedicated to “connecting families who are dealing with the unintentional but significant noise nuisance of pickleball courts.”
Comeau says she bought her home knowing the club was nearby and never ran into an issue with the tennis players.
“Not once have we ever complained about tennis, I actually kept an eye on the courts and kicked kids out who were damaging the courts late at night. Now 16 people can play at once,” she said.”
Having fought and complained about the Pickleball courts for the past four years, Comeau says no one has done anything including “every department” in town, as her arguments for softer balls and paddles have “gone on deaf ears.”
Her attempts to drown out the noise by playing music at her house are often stopped by Pickleball players complaining to her about her noise.
“They knock on my door and send emails to lower my music on my deck so they can enjoy their tournaments and event,” Comeau said.
“Imagine being that (entitled) not to care what your neighbors are dealing with. I have always had great caring neighbors until we moved to THE VILLAGE,” she added.
Comeau has taken to recording the noise level from her deck with readings consistently staying in the high 70s-low 80s weighted decibels.
“Pickleball Noise Relief” founder Rob Mastroianni says it has become a “new phenomenon in residential communities.”
“It’s really insidious, this noise that people are enduring now so close to their homes,” he told Boston.com.
A real estate lawyer representing Comeau and two other residents says he is writing a letter to the club urging they move the courts.
“This is actually a growing issue,” Jonathan Polloni told the outlet. “With the rise of the pickleball we were also seeing a rise in more complaints.”
“I can’t imagine any judge saying that it’s OK for us to have to deal with this,” Comeau said. “I hope that it can just be ended, I can say no pickleball, I could put my house on the market, and ride off into the sunset.”
Massachusetts
This Massachusetts beach has the ‘best etiquette’ in the state.
Medford native Maria Menounos hosting ‘Heal Squad Day of Reset’ in Yarmouth
Medford native and celebrity Maria Menounos is hosting ‘Heal Squad Day of Reset’ at Red Jacket Beach Resort & Spa in Yarmouth.
Looking for a beach where fellow beachgoers have good manners?
Travel website Exoticca conducted a survey and found the beach with the best beach etiquette in each state, including Massachusetts, so you can know the place where Bay Staters treat both the beach and each other with the most respect.
“We surveyed 3,011 Americans to find out where beachgoers are seen as having the best etiquette, and the results say quite a lot about what people actually want from a beach vacation,” Exoticca said.
In Massachusetts, voters said to head to the North Shore.
Crane Beach — Ipswich, Massachusetts
The extremely popular Crane Beach in the North Shore town of Ipswich was voted the best for beach etiquette by Exoticca’s readers.
Exoticca said that the places that scored the highest in positive beach etiquette were places where people focused on the clarity of the water and the beautiful scenery rather than external distractions like seaside restaurants or shops on the boardwalk, where “everyone around seems to understand that nobody wants the place spoiled.”
Crane Beach is known for its white sand and conservation. It’s one of the nesting places for piping plovers, according to The Trustees.
“To protect threatened shorebirds during your visit, we ask that you avoid the fenced nesting areas and the wrack, the line of washed-up organic debris where the birds feed and hide,” the Trustees said.
Despite having 350,000 people visit annually, according to the Trustees, Crane Beach still achieved the top spot of beach etiquette.
How to visit Crane Beach
Barring going on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or on Veterans’ Day for families with veterans, visitors do have to buy tickets for vehicle entry and parking. Tickets are cheaper if visitors arrive via motorcycle, biking, or walking.
“Strict rules apply: no drop-offs, re-entry for nonmembers, or outside food delivery; dogs and horses are not allowed April 1–September 30,” the ticket selection webpage said.
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@usatodayco.com.
Massachusetts
Mass stranding of bottlenose dolphins off Cape Cod said to be largest in Massachusetts history
Rescuers were working to save around 30 bottlenose dolphins that got stranded off the coast of Cape Cod early Monday morning. It is the largest known stranding of bottlenose dolphins off Massachusetts, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
The dolphins had become stranded between First Light and Ellis Landing in Brewster at about 5:30 a.m. when they came in with the tide. A woman noticed the animals and reported it. The IFAW quickly responded to the area, but five to six of the marine mammals died before help arrived.
The IFAW worked throughout the day on Monday to get the mammals away from the shoreline before the next low tide at 5:13 p.m. They said late Monday afternoon that they were still successfully being steered away.
“Our team remains in the area to monitor and herd the animals away from shore,” an IFAW spokesperson said. “We know these events can sometimes repeat in the coming hours and days, but we remain hopeful.”
The organization said it had seen an uptick in bottlenose dolphins becoming stranded off Cape Cod in the last few years.
“Bottlenose dolphins are typically an offshore species,” the spokesperson said.
They asked that anyone who encounters a stranded or distressed marine mammal not get close and never drag or push the animal back into the water.
“Similar to a person involved in a car accident, dolphins can become injured and exhausted during a stranding event,” the IFAW said.
Instead, they recommend calling their IFAW stranding hotline at 508-743-9548.
Massachusetts
Man dead after apparent drowning in Randolph pond
A man has died following an apparent drowning at a pond in Randolph, Massachusetts, on Sunday.
The Randolph police and fire departments received a 911 call at around 4 p.m. for a swimmer in distress in the water on Pond Street, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office..
Firefighters located the man a short time later, officials added, and he was taken by ambulance to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Kingston Fire Department had said just before 4 p.m. that their dive team was activated for a missing swimmer in Randolph, but that the activation was canceled after the swimmer was located.
Further information is not being released at this time, including the man’s name.
Massachusetts State Police detectives and the Randolph Police Department are investigating.
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