Volume LXXV, Number 8
Camp Guide Pages 17-20 Bletchley Park Code Breakers in “Sundays At the Sarnoff” . . . . . . . 5 Council Updated on Plans For Streetscape, Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Poetry's Bright Star — 200 Years Later John Keats Shines On . . . . . . . . . . 13 Passage Theatre Presents Online Reading Of Babel . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Senior Henderson Relishing Final Season with PDS Girls’ Hockey . . . . . . . . 26 Using Qualities Gained From Football, Smith Starring for Hun Boys’ Hoops . . . . . . . . 28
All in a Day’s Work With Mijin Kim of the Kingston Deli . . . . . . . . 11 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 21 Classified Ads . . . . . . 31 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 New to Us . . . . . . . . . . 22 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 30 Performing Arts . . . . . 15 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 31 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Health Department Leads the Way, As COVID Cases Drop The Princeton Health Department reported on Monday, February 22, only two new cases of COVID-19 in the previous seven days and 15 new cases in the previous 14 days. The highest totals in Princeton were 39 for seven days and 66 for 14 days, both recorded in mid-December. “The Princeton Health Department began seeing a decline in the number of new cases in December, where we were seeing an average of more than 50 new cases every two weeks at the height of the second wave,” said Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser. “We are now closing in on fewer than 10 new cases every two weeks. There is discussion of increased vaccinations and seasonality of the virus being two main factors in these declines.” Grosser emphasized the importance of continued mask wearing, physical distancing, and staying home when feeling unwell. “We stand at a period in the pandemic where declining case counts, increasing vaccinations, and continued responsible prevention behaviors are showcasing hope in the face of what has been nearly a year of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. Also on February 22, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, citing positive trends in infection rates and continuing improvement in the pace of vaccinations statewide, announced an easing of restrictions on capacity limits for churches and houses of worship and on attendance at professional and college sports. Religious services will be able to operate at 50 percent of the capacity of the room where they are held. Services were previously limited to 35 percent of the room capacity with a cap of 150, which has been lifted. Masking and social distancing are required. Collegiate sports can now allow up to two parents or guardians for each participating athlete with the total number of spectators present not to exceed 35 percent of the capacity of the room. Effective March 1, large sports and entertainment venues with seating capacity of 5,000 or more will be permitted to host individuals up to 10 percent of capacity indoors and 15 percent of capacity outdoors. Social distancing and masks, except when eating or drinking, will be required. New Jersey’s seven-day average for new cases, as of February 22, was down Continued on Page 8
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Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Council Attempts to Repair Affordable Housing Settlement In an effort to emend a situation that leaves open the possibility of new housing projects being built without setting aside 20 percent of the units for affordable housing, Princeton Council is looking for a way to close the loophole and ensure that affordable units are included in new developments. The set-aside requirement was part of an agreement last year in which the municipality settled a five-year lawsuit with the advocacy group Fair Share Housing. But during a recent meeting of the town’s Site Plan Review Advisory Board, it was revealed that the requirement, which was in place in what was formerly Princeton Borough before consolidation with the former Township, was no longer in effect. Council members first believed that the requirement was inadvertently left out. But they have since determined that it was omitted on purpose. “The change was made intentionally by the consultants who were helping us reach the agreement and draft the new ordinances,” Councilman David Cohen said on Tuesday. “It was not clear to the members of Council that the Borough requirement was being eliminated. It was done because apparently there is more recent legislation,
which we’re still trying to nail down exactly, that made the old Borough rule no longer in conformance with state law. The rule had been that any property that was developed with more than five units had to provide 20 percent affordable. Apparently, there were changes in state law instituted after that was passed. We’re still waiting for details from our attorney.” As it now stands, the 20 percent setaside applies only to development applications that require variances. So if a project application conforms to zoning
regulations, it is not required to include affordable units. “As soon as you ask for a density variance you lose the exemption,” Cohen said. To fix the problem, revising the comprehensive affordable housing ordinance was originally considered. “But the likelihood is that the ordinance won’t be revised, because the way it was written was intentional in order to be aligned with current rules at the state level,” Cohen said. “So we can’t change it. It was a knee-jerk Continued on Page 8
Carol Kelley Will be New Superintendent, Chosen to Lead Princeton Public Schools In a February 18 special meeting that Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE) President Beth Behrend described as “for a change, all about excitement and hope for the future,” the BOE, in a “unanimous and enthusiastic” vote, welcomed Carol L. Kelley as the new superintendent of the district. Pending approval by the county superintendent, Kelley will begin her tenure on July 1, 2021, when Interim Superintendent Barry Galasso will step down. Galasso has been at the helm since July 1, 2020, when he succeeded the previous
superintendent Steve Cochrane. The BOE members, who have been engaged in the search process over the past year, all spoke up at the hour-long meeting to welcome Kelley, to express their enthusiasm to begin working with her, and to comment on the qualities that led them to select her to lead the PPS. She will receive a four-year contract at $240,000 per year. Kelley has served in education for 27 years, with advanced degrees in education and business and work as Continued on Page 9
ON THE HUNT: Passers-by searched for new titles outside Labyrinth Books on Nassau Street on Sunday . Book lovers share what they have read during the pandemic in this week’s Town Talk on page 6 . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
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