Volume LXXV, Number 2
Many MLK Day Tributes Planned Despite Pandemic . . . . . 5 PPS Responds to Zoom Bombing . . . . . . . 8 Princeton’s Boards, Commissions, Committees Help Shape Policies . . . . 8 Princeton Dems Seek Greater Inclusivity . . . . 12 Reading Sinclair Lewis, Dreaming Lincoln . . . . 18 McCarter Presents Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side in Online Festival . . . . . . . 19 PSO Presents Virtual Concert of Chamber, Piano Music . . . . . . . . . 22 PU Alum Chris Young Becomes GM of Texas Rangers . . . . . . . 29 PDS Boys’ Hockey Aiming to Make Most of Winter Despite COVID Challenges . . . . . . . . . 33
Austin Micale Primed for Senior Season with PHS Boys’ Hockey . . . . . . . 31 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .20, 21 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 25 Classified Ads . . . . . . 36 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 16
www.towntopics.com
Eve Niedergang Announces Council Re-election Campaign, Leighton Newlin to Run Princeton Councilwoman Eve Niedergang has announced she will run for reelection in the June 8, 2021 Democratic primary. Leighton Newlin, co-chair of the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association and chair of the Princeton Housing Authority Board of Commissioners for the last 19 years, announced Tuesday that he will run for a Council seat. There are two three-year terms on the ballot this year. Councilman Dwaine Williamson, who has served for the past year, has yet to officially say whether he will run for a second term. Now in her third year on the governing body, Niedergang has served as liaison to the Environmental Commission, the Board of Health, Local Emergency Planning Committee, Personnel Committee, Public Works Committee, Senior Resource Center, Shade Tree Commission, and Sewer Operating Committee. “I am grateful for the trust and confidence that so many of you placed in me when I ran for election in 2018, and I am asking for your support in 2021,” she said in a press release. “I am here to listen to you and to work collaboratively with residents, colleagues, and staff to achieve the best outcomes for this community which I love and of which I am so proud to be a part.” Former Councilman Lance Liverman is co-chairing Niedergang’s current campaign. “Because of my many years on Council I know how important it is to navigate roadblocks; Eve excels at this,” he said. “Eve has demonstrated compassion and thoughtfulness in dealing with some of our towns most sensitive issues. I fully support her, and I’m honored to co-chair her re-election campaign.” Niedergang, who is volunteer coordinator at The Watershed Institute, is especially enthused about a new 2021 environmental justice initiative that involves working with local landscapers to adopt more sustainable lawn care practices, and will hopefully result in a reduction in the use of gas leaf blowers through both education and regulation. “The recent movement to address racial inequality and the marginalization of the underrepresented has made it clear we need to do more to include those voices in policies and programs,” she said. “This initiative will allow us to engage directly with the
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Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Health Officials Ramp Up Vaccine Delivery With COVID-19 vaccine clinics proliferating throughout the state, the Princeton Health Department has ramped up its vaccination program, administering vaccines to 240 police officers, firefighters, health workers, medical office personnel, and others eligible on Monday, January 11 at the Princeton Senior Resource Center (PSRC) on Monument Drive, in phase 1A of the state’s vaccine rollout. Also, all staff and residents at Acorn Glen and Princeton Care Center who wanted a vaccine have received their initial doses, the health department reported. “As more mega clinics open and the state works through phase 1A, more than 300 additional COVID-19 vaccine clinics will be available statewide as phase 1B begins,” said Princeton Press and Media Communications Director Fred Williams. “Preparation efforts by municipal and county health officials across the state as well as here in Princeton will ensure
that people who request the COVID-19 vaccine will be able to receive it.” Williams expressed the health department’s gratitude to scores of volunteers who have assisted in running the clinics. “Doctors, nurses, and many other health professionals, retired and actively working, are making a big difference,” he said. As of Tuesday, January 12, New Jersey had administered 233,555 doses of the vaccine, according to the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH), out of 657,000 doses received so far. Mercer County reported 5,948 doses administered. Vaccinations will not be available for the general public until April or May. Only health care workers, residents and staff of long-term congregant settings, sworn law enforcement personnel, and fire professionals are currently eligible to receive vaccinations. The remainder of essential workers and other individuals 75 and
older included in the second phase (1B) of vaccinations will become eligible soon, as vaccine availability expands, according to the NJDOH. The following phase (1C), for other essential workers, adults 65 and older and individuals 16-64 with high risk medical conditions, will then take place before vaccines are available to the general public. The phases will overlap. The goal is for 70 percent of adult residents in the state, approximately 4.5 million, to receive vaccinations by the end of May. Individuals are encouraged to register at covidvaccine.nj.gov, even if they are not yet eligible for a vaccination. More than one million New Jersey residents have registered so far. In addition to two out of six planned mega-sites currently open for vaccinations, there are vaccinations available in 119 localities throughout the state, including Continued on Page 9
PU Professors Weigh In on Violent Events At the U .S . Capitol As the Trump presidency draws to a close and the world reflects on the alarming January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, there are many different opinions and perspectives on what it all means and where the country goes from here. Some of the best informed and most helpful of those perspectives may come from historians and political scientists, and Princeton University’s professors of history and politics have not hesitated to weigh in on the national dialogue. As Jamie Saxon of the Princeton University Office of Communications pointed out in a press release last week, a number of Princeton faculty “are using opeds, television news programs, podcasts, online publications, and social media to speak to the moment, share their expertise, and help chart a path forward for the country.” American History Professor Sean Wilentz, author of a January 7 article in Rolling Stone titled “Lock Him Up: What Donald Trump Did on January 6 was Sedition — and He Must Be Prosecuted For It,” emphasized what he sees as his dual role as a historian. “Some of us feel we have a civic function as well as an educational and intellectual one, that we serve our country in one way or another,” he
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“WINTER WONDERLAND”: Princeton resident Emma Brigaud has created a brightly lit art installation in Dohm Alley off Nassau Street for passers-by to enjoy this winter . The 10-foot-wide space was transformed into an arts and performance venue several years ago . (Photo by Charles R.. Plohn)
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