Volume LXXVI, Number 9
Longtime Sourland Mountain Resident Celebrated as Living History . . . . . . . 5 Rider Faculty and Students To Protest . . . . . . . . . 10 Divest Princeton Files Legal Complaint . . . . 11 Ibsen Meets Barbie in Theatre Intime’s A Doll’s House . . . 15 PU Orchestra Presents Concerto Competition Winners . . . . . . . . . . 16 Sears Stars as PU Women’s Lacrosse Wins Home Opener . . . . . . 26 PHS Boys’ Swimming Fights to the End as it Falls in State Final . . . 28
Remembering The Lives Of Others and Princeton Resident Edmund Keeley (1928-2022) . . . . . . . 14 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 35 Education & Recreation . .3 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 24 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 33 Performing Arts . . . . . 17 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 35 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Princeton Responds In Shock, Distress To War in Ukraine As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued into its second week, the Princeton community, along with the world, looked on in shock, distress, apprehension, and anger. More than 100 Princeton University students, faculty, and community members joined a demonstration in front of Nassau Hall on Friday, February 25 to support Ukraine and to demand freedom for the Ukrainians and an end to the war. The Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) has announced plans for a “Peace in Ukraine” vigil in Palmer Square on Thursday, March 3 at 5 p.m. and has strongly condemned the recent actions by Russia and its President Vladimir Putin. On February 25, four Princeton University experts on Russia and Ukraine gathered online for a Zoom conference, sponsored by Princeton’s School for Public and International Affairs, to discuss the start of the war in Ukraine and to consider how it might progress in the future. None of the conference participants had expected that Putin would actually invade Ukraine. “Many of us were saying, up until Monday night [February 21], that the massing of troops was a bluff. It was designed to increase Russia’s leverage on a bunch of demands it had been making for some time,” said Professor of Sociology and International Affairs Kim Lane Scheppele. “Many people in Ukraine, many people in Russia, and many people who have been experts on these two countries for a long time saw this as a bluff and didn’t think an invasion was going to happen.” Noting that she has many friends in both Russia and Ukraine, she continued, “Everybody is in shock, because this was not anticipated. Ukraine and Russia are friends. The largest ethnic group in Russia is Ukrainians and vice versa. There are many family ties, many connections. The idea that Russian soldiers would go in and kill Ukrainians to this degree is a shock on both sides.” Politics Professor Mark Beissinger, who in the past has met Putin, was also surprised. “The expansiveness of Putin’s vision of resuscitating Russian control over Ukraine is just astounding,” he said. “This is not going to go without a lot of dissent within the Russian Continued on Page 8
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Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Council Approves Special Improvement District Princeton Council voted unanimously in favor of creating a Special Improvement District (SID) at its meeting Monday night, February 28. The vote came after a few hours of comment from several members of the public — several opposed; fewer in favor — and discussion by members of the Council. The SID, of which there are nearly 100 in New Jersey, is a defined area authorized by state law and created by a local ordinance to collect an annual assessment on businesses in that area. A nonprofit, separate from the municipality, collects the assessment, which goes toward improving the economic, physical,
and social values of the district. The nonprofit overseeing the SID will be known as the Princeton Business Partnership. The steering committee that has crafted the ordinance will cease to exist. “There is room for any property owners or business owners and residents to join,” said Councilmember Michelle Pirone Lambros, who has been instrumental in creating the SID. “It will be run and managed by the business community. All business partners will be stakeholders.” Most of the comments by those opposing the SID came from business owners who operate outside of the central business district, do not rely on visitors and
walk-ins, and don’t feel they should be assessed. “There is nothing this SID could do for me, ever,” said Chip Crider, whose scientific instrument company operates outside the central business district in an area included in the ordinance. “I see the majority of these folks who are pushing this SID are interested in monetizing every aspect of Princeton for their gain. You’re giving a private, unrepresentative group the ability to do tax rates. If you want to help businesses in Princeton, stop meddling. I oppose this.” Real estate owner and former Councilmember Lance Liverman said he is in Continued on Page 11
Parents, Students, School Officials Wonder: “To Mask or Not to Mask?”
READY TO LISTEN: A fan was in position outside Cleveland Tower on the campus of the Princeton University Graduate College on Sunday afternoon in anticipation of the free weekly concert by Lisa Lonie, who plays the carillon within the tower. The March 6 concert, which starts at 1 p.m., will feature new music inspired by the landscapes of Frederick Law Olmsted. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)
Theater, Dance, Music & Visual Arts Summer Workshops
With the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updating its COVID-19 guidelines on February 25 and New Jersey on March 7 lifting its mask mandate for schools and child care centers, school officials, parents, students, and indeed the general population will be wondering in the coming weeks if, when, and where to wear a mask. Princeton Deputy Administrator for Health and Community Services Jeff Grosser sees this moment as a significant one in the timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he is not encouraging Princeton residents to put away their masks. “We must keep in mind that the masks are one of our forms of defense against respiratory disease spread,” he wrote in a March 1 email. He continued, “There may be a time where it is recommended, encouraged, or mandated to have individuals mask up again. And as a community we will need to continue to support one another when and if that happens.” The health department has been working closely with Princeton schools in anticipation of next Monday’s lifting of the mask mandate. “Our guidance will continue to support utilizing community transmission data, along with hospitalization data and updates on emerging variants,” said Grosser. He went on to point out that Princeton schools are all in different situations based on their case counts and the timing of spring break and other large-scale school events. A common denominator
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