Volume LXIX, Number 24
“Lord of the Dance”: Celebrating Stravinsky’s Birthday and Remembering John Fischer . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Art Council’s Jeff Nathanson Marks a Decade as Director . . . 14 Princeton Festival Opens Opera Season With Production of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro . . 17 Former PU Men’s Lax Coach Tierney Felt Déjà Vu In Guiding Denver to Program’s 1st NCAA Crown . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Hun Boys’ Lax Star Donovan, PHS Goalie Shane Get Nod as Town Topics’ Top Spring Performers . . . . . . . . 25
www.towntopics.com
Coalition Wants State To Kill NJ Transit’s Cuts and Fare Hikes Efforts to get the state to nix plans for a NJ Transit fare hike and a cut in some bus routes, including one that ferries passengers between Princeton and the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, are focused on state legislators as the June 30 budget deadline nears. New Jersey For Transit, a coalition of 18 members, testified last week at a meeting of NJ Transit’s Board of Directors urging the agency and the government to come up with an alternative to the nine percent fare hike and the discontinuing of some routes. NJ Transit has proposed the changes to make up for a funding shortfall of approximately $60 million. If approved, the service cuts would go into effect in September and fares would rise October 1. “We’re about to deliver a letter to Senate President Sweeney and Assembly Continued on Page 9
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, June17, 2015
Residents Voice Concerns Over Valley Road Plans
Some 45 local residents and interested users of Valley Road turned out Monday, June 15, for a neighborhood meeting designed to elicit their ideas and concerns with respect to planned improvements for Valley Road as part of the municipality’s capital improvement program. Valley Road, between Witherspoon and North Harrison streets, will undergo a redesign, funded in part by a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The redesign will be done in the context of Princeton’s Complete Streets Policy, adopted in 2013, as well as the town’s master plan, which Mayor Liz Lempert acknowledged is now somewhat outof-date but has to be worked with until it is revised. This was the second such meeting and, like the first on May 12, it was chaired by Ms. Lempert. Among the participants were Princeton Engineer Bob Kiser, Assistant Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton, Municipal Arborist Lorraine Konopka, Council
member Jenny Crumiller, Traffic Safety Officer Sgt. Thomas Murray III, volunteer Steve Kruse of the Pedestrian and Bicyle Advisory Committee, and volunteer Sam Bunting of the Traffic and Transportation Committee. Longtime Valley Road residents Charlie and Antoniette Mauro had come along with their daughter Josephine Molnar, who grew up on Valley Road and visits her parents there often. They expressed concerns that “improvements” will result in more traffic on Valley Road and questioned the impact on children crossing the road on their way to school. They were also worried about the potential impact on the value of their property if the municipality decides to meander sidewalks onto their lawn. “The purpose of the meeting is to talk about road design,” said Ms. Lempert, who noted that as yet the municipality had no fixed plan in place but is working on one and seeking the input of the neighborhood. She explained that the
meeting was not an official public hearing but rather an informal presentation to gather ideas. “There has been a shift in road design in recent years,” she said. “It used to be that a road was to get people from A to B as quickly as possible but now we want to make it safer for walkers and bicyclists as well as motor vehicle traffic. If we can reduce the speed of vehicles, we could make Valley Road more pedestrian- and bike-friendly. It’s impossible to have a police presence on every street, so how can we give drivers the cues to slow down?” Before residents were invited to comment, they heard a report from the town arborist Lorraine Konopka, three and a half months into her new job. Ms. Konopka reported on the health of Valley Road’s trees, mostly London Planes sited at intervals of, on average, 35 feet. “Our goal is to preserve as many as possible,” she said, noting that four London Plane trees Continued on Page 7
ER M M U S S M A JAZ TY BLOCK PNACRERT AND CO GREEN ON THE ING FEATUR THEATER PIGPEN
CO.
Merrell Noden, 59, Writer, Athlete, Princeton University Graduate and Princeton Resident Deeply Committed to Racial Equality and Social Justice, Dies . . . . . . . 29
FRIDAY, J NE 19, 2015 PALMER SU Q PARTY 6:00 UARE WEST CONCERT B –8:30 PM AT 8:00 PM EGINS FREE ADMIS SION
Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 12 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 30
Crafts • Activities Food Trucks • Family Fun!
Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Music/Theater . . . . . . 17
25 Palmer Square East 609.924.8697
ER M M U S S M A AZ. . . . . . . . . . . . A JPolice 11 RTY P K C O L BReal Estate . . . . . . . N . 30 T O C D N. . . . . . . . . . . . 22CREEREN A Sports G HE “It’s like watching child geniuses at play,” TTown Nof the Topics .... 5 O G SPIRES OF FREEDOM: On the Wilson School’s Scudder Plaza, sculptor James Fitzgerald’s Fountain of Freedom looms over Robertson Hall and Ai Weiwei’s N I R Town . . .U ...... 6 ETalkA. .T F installation, “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads,” the subject of a letter on page 8. R E T A E PIGPEN TH Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
CO.
Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 29
JAZAMS FRIDAY SUMMER BLOCK PARTY , JUNE 19, 2 015THE GREEN PALAND ON MERCONCERT SQUARE W EST PARTY 6:00 –8:30 FRIDAY JUNE 19, 2015
PALMER SQUARE WEST • PARTY 6:00 TO 8:30 DETAILS ON PAGE 27.
says The New Yorker about this incredible group of performers. Learn more about them at pigpentheatre.com
PLUS
es on the Green
Summer Movi
Come enjoy a family-friendly movie under the stars!
(Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
Movies begin at 8:45pm (dusk)
FREE ADMISSION Bring your own blanket or lawn chair.
38 East Broad Street Hopewell, NJ (609) 333-0610
Saturday, June 20 – Horton Hears a Who
Crafts • Activities Food Trucks • Family Fun!
Friday, July 17 – Journey to the Center of the Earth
25 Palmer Square East 609.924.8697
Friday, August 14 – Shark Tale
WeMoved
palmersquare.com
DETAILS ON PAGE 27. MMG011_SIS_AD_Strip_r1.indd 1
5/11/15 1:23 PM