Volume LXXIV, Number 13
Spring Into Health Pages 21-22 Princeton Nursery School Gets Aid From Community . . . . . . . . 5 2020 Census Count Has Big Impact . . . . . . 8 Share My Meals, Restaurants Help Food Insecure . . . . . . . . . . . 9 PU Men’s Lax Developed Deep Bonds Even as Season Cut Short . . . . 23 Inspired by Zammit, PHS Girls’ Hockey Earned Memorable Wins . . . . . 26
Follow the Sylvia Beach Way to Paris and Berlin in This Week’s Book/Film Review . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .16, 17 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 20 Classified Ads . . . . . . 29 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 20 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 27 Performing Arts . . . . . 15 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 4 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 29 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Another Virtual Business Forum to Be Held This Week As the impact of COVID-19 on local businesses quickly became a reality just over a week ago, Mayor Liz Lempert reached out to James Steward, director of Princeton University Art Museum and a board member of the Princeton Merchants Association (PMA), for ideas. How could small- and mid-sized businesses manage throughout the crisis? The conversation resulted in the first Virtual Princeton Business Forum, held last Thursday and “attended” by some 82 interested parties, via Zoom. The conversation, which was led by Steward, will be repeated this Thursday, March 26 at 10 a.m., with a representative from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority on hand to answer question about loans, financing, and technical assistance. The virtual gathering is presented by the PMA, and is open to members and nonmembers. “I knew that step one was to create an opportunity for people to come together sooner rather than later,” said Steward, who will host the second event. “The pace with which this crisis has unfolded was leaving people feeling isolated and frightened and alone. And that includes the business community.” Among those who posed questions and comments during the first forum were proprietors of Labyrinth Books, Casa Aziz, Princeton Garden Theatre, Jammin’ Crepes, Bella Boutique, Homestead Princeton, and Thomas Sweet. Marco Cucchi, who owns Thomas Sweet, said concerns about the health of his employees led him to close all four of the ice cream café’s locations, in the hopes that they could get a jump on securing unemployment compensation. Jack Morrison, PMA president and owner of the JM Group’s five restaurants, offered to be a resource on the employee question, having established a Go Fund Me account for his workers. Lempert spoke about the princetoncovid.org website that has been established as a one-stop source during the crisis. “People want to help the business community,” she said. “This group should channel that.” Commenting on whether people are following social distantancing, she said, “We’re counting on the worst actor to be behaving in the best way possible.” Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Health Officer: “Not Out of the Woods Yet” “I’m proud of Princeton for its first full week of dedicated social distancing, but we are not out of the woods yet,” said Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser in Tuesday’s COVID-19 Update. The Princeton Health Department (PHD) announced an additional positive case in Princeton on Tuesday, which brings the total to 10. The latest case is a Princeton University student, who is currently in isolation on campus. The PHD is investigating the source of the infection and who the individual may have come into close contact with. Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert warned that current statistics probably understate the magnitude of the epidemic. “It is important to understand that the prevalence of coronavirus in the community is likely to be significantly higher than these numbers indicate,” she said. “It is vitally important for everyone to be heeding the governor’s order to stay at home whenever possible, and to practice social distancing when leaving your house.” She continued, “Slowing the rate of spread will help give our medical system and first responders the much needed time to gear up to treat people who fall sick and help control the volume of people who will be needing care.” In his daily COVID-19 press briefing
Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy delivered what he called “a sobering report.” He announced the largest single-day increase in deaths with 17 new deaths from coronavirus, bringing the total in the state to 44. There are now at least 3,675 coronavirus total cases in New Jersey, a one-day increase of 846. New Jersey ranks second in the nation after New York for the number of cases. In delivering the daily update on the princetoncovid.org website, Grosser urged a focus on preventing the spread
of the virus to the most vulnerable populations and on preparing for the possibility of a hospital surge. “Those are the individuals who should be central to our efforts. We need continued community support to reap the benefits of reducing disease transmission through the coronavirus.” He continued, stressing the importance of social distancing “to break the chains of transmission and slow the number of people who become sick.” He noted that the vast majority of deaths Continued on Page 7
Community Partners Adapt, Team Up To Increase Resiliency and Preparedness Sustainable Princeton (SP), since its founding in 2012, has been working to combat climate change and prepare the Princeton community for extreme weather events, like hurricanes. This one isn’t a hurricane, but it turns out that building community resiliency is a good idea for many different reasons, and the Princeton Climate Action Plan (CAP), despite its specific focus on climate crises, is helping Princeton in its struggle against the spreading coronavirus. “Many of the resiliency actions the plan includes help Princeton’s preparations for
all emergencies,” SP Executive Director Molly Jones wrote in an email. “The further the community as a whole is along in its essential preparedness, the more we relieve demand on our social and emergency services. This allows these departments to better assist our most vulnerable community members.” In a press release last week, SP emphasized ”the paralyzing impact that COVID-19 (coronavirus) is having on all of us,” and added, “As every hour brings concerning news from our region and the Continued on Page 10
SILENCE ON THE SQUARE: Palmer Square was practically empty on Friday afternoon as Princeton residents and visitors heeded requests to stay at home and practice social distancing . Visit princetoncovid .org for a list of local businesses that are still open . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)