Northeast
Mysterious hum rattles American city as residents report sleepless nights and rising fear
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A persistent, low-frequency hum has invaded the city of West Haven, Connecticut, according to many residents, leaving some shaken by an occurrence they’re calling everything from mysterious to excruciating.
For some time, residents of this city on the coast of Long Island Sound have believed the source of the hum to be local industry, and they’re demanding a resolution. After circulating a petition and obtaining over 140 signatures, a group convinced the city council to spend $16,000 to hire a third-party acoustic firm.
“For years, our community has been plagued by a constant or intermittent humming noise and low-frequency vibrations affecting multiple areas of town,” the petition notes. “This disturbing phenomenon occurs at all hours, disrupting our ability to sleep, concentrate and enjoy life to its fullest.
GOVERNMENT LIFTS WI-FI BAN IN SECRETIVE ‘QUIET ZONE’ AMID OBSERVATORY TOURISM
“Many residents have reported increased levels of stress, anxiety and physical discomfort due to this incessant noise and vibration.”
There have been “numerous complaints” made about it over time, it adds, yet “the source of this noise remains unresolved. … We are deeply concerned about the long-term health consequences this persistent noise pollution imposes on us.”
A mysterious hum has been disrupting the lives of many residents (not pictured) of West Haven, Conn., creating anxiety. (iStock)
Mental health issues linked to low-frequency hums are common, experts say. But not all residents hear the noise.
John Carrano, West Haven’s commissioner of human resources, told Fox News Digital the sound is at its highest level near his home, yet his own children do not hear the hum.
“My house is the loudest of all the different locations in the area,” he said. “I would test in the morning and test in the evening. If I saw an elevated decibel reading, I would go up to the industrial zone and test the property line.”
GOLF CARTS CALLED ‘PLAGUE’ AS NEIGHBORHOODS CLASH OVER GROWING TREND IN AMERICA
In a city of almost 56,000 citizens, the difference of opinion and ideas about the issue is apparently common.
“This is a quality-of-life issue, no doubt,” said Mayor Dorinda Borer, according to NBC Connecticut. “We don’t want people to be impacted. We don’t want [people’s] health to be impacted.”
West Haven, Connecticut, is on the coast of Long Island Sound. The city has almost 56,000 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. (Google Maps)
The acoustic firm hired for the task will use 10 microphones to continuously listen for the hum over the course of seven days.
Government officials need to choose a week with low wind and no precipitation, Carrano said.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES
“People feel the hum differently,” he continued. “Some don’t even hear it. Others hear it, and they’re not bothered by it. Then there’s another group that finds it very disturbing when they hear it.”
“It’s gotten to the point where it just gets in your chest.”
One person said she felt like she was going “cuckoo” when she heard the sound and her family didn’t, the New Haven Register reported.
“I’ve been hearing this noise for over four years or whatever, and I thought it was just me going a little cuckoo,” resident Rosemary Brooks said at a recent council meeting. “But it’s gotten to the point where it just gets in your chest.”
Some West Haven residents (not pictured) have said a mysterious hum is preventing them from sleeping at night. (iStock)
Bennett Brooks, president of Brooks Acoustics Corporation, a company based in Connecticut and Florida, told Fox News Digital, “It’s a problem that should be rectified. Lower frequencies are much harder to block than the higher frequency of sound.
“It can be very annoying. It’s as if it shakes the dishes and windows in your kitchen.”
Connecticut has many noise ordinances, but there are few “applicable government regulations that address low-frequency noise,” he said.
The state of Connecticut enforces numerous noise rules, but there are limited regulations that specifically cover low-frequency noise. (iStock)
Similar hums have been reported around the world, according to numerous sources, including in Taos, New Mexico; Auckland, New Zealand; and Windsor, Ontario.
The hums are often, but not always, traced to factories or power plants.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
A high-pressure gas pipeline or mechanical device can sometimes be to blame, reports suggest. But some, like the one in Taos, have puzzled researchers for decades.
The mayor of West Haven is reluctant to make a quick decision about what’s going on in Connecticut.
“My pets tend to pace and stare.”
“We have to cross our T’s and dot our I’s before we go to [any specific] company and cite them,” the mayor told the Register.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Kimberly Nunes, who lives in the affected neighborhood and authored the petition, said the sound has taken a toll on everyone in her household, FOX 61 reported.
“It’s affecting my mental health, my sleep, my well-being,” Nunes said. “As well as my children’s. I’ve noticed that my pets tend to pace and stare.”
Read the full article from Here
Florida’s tallest flag pole raises new Stars and Stripes on Independence Day
Florida’s tallest free-standing American flagpole now stands 250 feet tall at Bernice Braden Park in Cape Coral
You might have seen Connecticut’s state flag in government buildings and schools and wondered what the meaning was behind its design.
Adopted by the General Assembly in 1897, the Flag of Connecticut features a navy blue background with a white shield. Three grapevines with purple grapes are on the shield and oak leaves and acorns can be found on the shield’s edge.
Below the shield is a banner which features the phrase “Qui Transtulit Sustinet” written in Latin. According to ConnecticutHistory.org, that phrase translates to “He who transplanted still sustains,” which honors the colonists who moved to the state from England.
Per Encyclopedia Britannica, the three grapevines have two competing interpretations: they represent either the three oldest settlements in the state (Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor) or the three colonies that merged to form Connecticut (Connecticut Colony, Saybrook Colony and New Haven Colony).
Why is the Connecticut flag blue?
According to ConnecticutHistory.org, the blue comes from Connecticut’s Civil War military flags. During the Civil War, Connecticut regiments had flags featuring blue backgrounds. ConnecticutHistory.org reports that when the legislature adopted an official flag in 1897, they kept the color that military tradition had already established.
Origins of Connecticut’s state flag
Per ConnecticutHistory.org, Connecticut did not have an official state flag until 1897. The site reports that in 1895, the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Groton pushed for an official flag to display in their new meeting room.
Governor Owen Vincent Coffin introduced a bill on May 29, 1895, which ConnecticutHistory.org says caused the legislature to subsequently form a committee. After several designs were submitted, the Connecticut General Assembly adopted the flag in 1897.
Connecticut’s coat of arms, which includes the shield, grapevines and banner featured on the state flag, was not formally standardized until 1931, according to USASymbol.com. The website also says color standards for the flag came in 1956, when the Secretary of the State’s office developed uniform specifications.
Maine Senate hopeful, Democrat David Costello, speaks with a potential voter as he gathers signatures, required to be considered at the party’s convention, in downtown Brunswick, Maine on July 12.
Tamara Keith/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Tamara Keith/NPR
BRUNSWICK, Maine – On a sunny Sunday, Senate hopeful David Costello worked the sidewalk in downtown Brunswick asking for signatures.
“Woud you happen to be a registered Democrat?” he asked one woman before engaging in a back and forth conversation. She asks if he’s progressive.
“Very progressive,” Costello said.
Costello is one of several Maine Democrats who see the fall of Graham Platner’s senate campaign as an opportunity to represent Maine in Washington.
Platner won June’s Democratic primary election handily. But allegations of rape by a former romantic partner last week forced him to drop out of the race. It leaves Maine Democrats scrambling to find a new nominee before the July 27 deadline to put a name on the ballot. Platner denies the allegations.
The Maine Democratic Party will hold a convention on July 25 where 601 delegates will choose that nominee. That candidate will need to capitalize on the enthusiasm Platner generated to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
An unstoppable incumbent or a top pick-up opportunity?
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leans down to listen to a young paradegoer at the annual Moxie Day Parade is Lisbon, Maine on July 11.
Susan Sharon/Maine Public
hide caption
toggle caption
Susan Sharon/Maine Public
Collins remained quiet at the end of Platner’s campaign but at the annual Moxie Day parade Saturday in Lisbon, Maine, she walked with volunteers in red shirts.
“People appreciate the fact that I provide steady leadership — and the word steady does come up a lot,” Collins said at the parade, “and that I continue to work really hard for Maine.”
Collins has represented Maine in the Senate since 1997. She has managed to stay in her seat even as Maine has voted for Democrats for president statewide, including in 2020 when the state voted for Joe Biden. Collins last won reelection that year with a comfortable margin — more than 8.5%.
At the annual Moxie Day Parade in Lisbon, Maine, supporters of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, march with signs and giant letters spelling S-U-S-A-N, on July 11.
Susan Sharon/Maine Public
hide caption
toggle caption
Susan Sharon/Maine Public
Democrats see Maine as pivotal to their chances to retake the Senate. Platner’s departure from the race puts pressure on the party to choose a replacement candidate who can win over Platner’s loyal voters and appeal to independents who are key to Collins’ electoral success. Maine state Senate President Mattie Daughtry, a Democrat, is encouraged to see many of the candidates running on Platner’s progressive platform of transformational change. But she’s worried about voters being turned off by the process.
“I do have that deep seated concern of how many folks are going to say ‘oh well, this man failed me. Why trust someone ever again?’” Daughtry said.
Daughtry did not endorse Platner and she quickly called on him to drop out of the race after the rape allegations surfaced. Still, she thinks his message resonated.
“I ran for office when I was 25 because I was really really angry. I was working 4 jobs. I couldn’t afford an apartment and I had no healthcare. And unfortunately that story has not changed and it is a lived reality for millions of us across this country,” Daughtry said.
“And we need to find who can pick up that mantle. Who understands what that life is like and really tap into that raw energy,” she added.
Supporters weigh what’s next
Just one month ago, Alan Crichton was playing saxophone at Graham Platner’s primary night victory party. At a brewery in Belfast, Maine this weekend, he noted his ambivalence.
“I have so many mixed feelings. I like the guy. I like his message a great deal and I think he galvanized people who are just kind of sick of what’s happening,” Crichton said.
Now, though, Crichton calls the situation “a big old mess.” As a Democrat, he hoped the charismatic populist Platner would be the one to finally knock out Collins. Though, at this point, he’ll vote for whoever the Maine Democratic party selects.
“I hope it’s somebody who can kind of carry the torch that Graham kind of lit and held out there very strongly. He was a very inspiring guy,” he said.
Joseph Berube of Northport, Maine, gave up on politics in 1972 after Democrat George McGovern lost the race for president in a landslide. This year, though, he got excited about Graham Platner’s candidacy for U.S. Senate.
Tamara Keith/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Tamara Keith/NPR
Joseph Berube is an independent voter who lives in Northport, Maine. After decades disengaged from politics, Graham Platner sparked something in him he could hardly believe.
“Because I am so apolitical,” Berube said, “I want nothing to do with it. [But] I was actually considering giving money to his campaign.”
Charlotte Agell is on the opposite end of the engagement spectrum. A registered Democrat, she is very politically involved and has been for decades. She met Platner early on in his campaign.
“One of our neighbors said, ‘hey would you like to come to my backyard and meet Graham Platner?’ I had sort of heard of him,” she remembered. “When I went to that back yard event, I just by happenstance walked in with him. It was me and Graham Platner walking in.”
By the time that event ended, she had signed up to volunteer for his campaign.
“I felt a kinship with everything that was coming out of his mouth basically. Very smart. Good at identifying the problem,” Agell said.
Core to Platner’s economic populist message was that the system has been failing regular people while the rich and powerful get more rich and more powerful. He had faced controversies throughout his campaign. He easily won the nomination anyway. But then came the rape allegation. Berube believes the rush to judgment was too swift.
“I agree with women’s rights and women shouldn’t be abused,” he said. “But to have one person come up and stand up and say, ‘he abused me,’ and then that’s it? It’s just not really fair to him.””I just think they didn’t want him,” Berube added.
Berube says Democrats chopped the legs out from under someone who had brought people back into politics.
“He was bringing in people like me and that’s what’s going to do this. And you know what, we’re in the middle of a war to save this country,” Berube said. “And we have the other side that’s fighting with the gloves off and we’re putting the gloves on. We’re in trouble.”
Charlotte Agell has been processing it all a little differently. Agell admits to being a chronic optimist but says this was never about one man.
“You know, we’re not a cult. We’re just a movement that wants to take back this country for the middle and the working class,” she said.
Agell wants to believe this massive disruption won’t sap the momentum for change she felt.
“It’s really been like a rocket ship. We’ve all been on it. And that’s why, when these very serious things have been alleged and rightly he has dropped out of the race, we’re kinda still flying at 90 million miles an hour and saying ‘who can take the controls’ and we’re going to figure that out,” Agell said.
State Senator Chip Curry says the state party is doing the best it can with a tight timeline.
“It’s a winnable race and we’ve got some great people. We’ve got to get there,” Curry said.
There are more than half a dozen announced candidates. And for Democrats the stakes couldn’t be higher. No clear frontrunner has emerged from the candidates who have put themselves forward to be considered. It’s also not clear if one candidate can capitalize on the momentum that Platner was building in Maine. Still, some are remaining optimistic.
“People are going to grumble. I’ve grumbled a little bit. But I think we’ll get through this,” Senate hopeful David Costello predicted. “I think whoever the nominee is will have tremendous support.”
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.
-
Alaska40 seconds agoRebecca Wright Stevens on Amos Lane and Repping Alaska’s Indigenous Citizens in Court
-
Arizona7 minutes ago2026 K-State Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 7:Arizona State
-
Arkansas13 minutes agoArkansas Game and Fish Commission: Celebrate America 250 with responsible boating | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
-
California19 minutes agoThe fierce competition to get married at California’s most popular public buildings
-
Colorado25 minutes agoColorado’s Front Range Passenger Rail eyes stops at future Broncos, Summit stadiums
-
Connecticut31 minutes agoWhy Connecticut’s flag is blue and what its symbols stand for
-
Delaware37 minutes agoA Delaware taste of summer since 1957 is now being sold in Hockessin
-
Florida43 minutes agoSkunks, warthogs & monkeys, oh my! Here’s what Florida records reveal about 140+ captive animal escapes since 2022
