Volume LXIX, Number 25
It’s National Mosquito Awareness Week and Mercer County has Been Taking Preventive Measures To Keep Residents Safe From The Likes of Culex Pipiens . . 8 Eighteen Life-Sized Sculptures by J. Seward Johnson Show Up On Broadway . . . . . . . . . 12 Mary Zimmerman’s Updating of Ovid’s Metamorphoses Opens Princeton Summer Theater Season . . . . . 15 Aeolus Quartet Brings Energetic Performance to Richardson . . . . . . 17 After Five Seasons, Game of Thrones Rocks On . 18 Newly-Formed Victory Sports Hoops League Tips Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Former PHS Star Ettin Takes Job as Director of Operations for PU Men’s Hoops . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 19 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 34 Home Improvement . . . 33 Music/Theater . . . . . . 15 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 34 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
FBI In On Effort To Solve Swatting, Police Tell Parents Describing a series of phone threats to Princeton schools and other local institutions as “terrorism,” Police Chief Nick Sutter told concerned parents and members of the public last week that the situation, known as “swatting” because it mobilizes members of police SWAT teams, is being taken very seriously. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies are assisting local police in trying to determine who is behind the actions. Mr. Sutter was joined by Mayor Liz Lempert, Princeton Public Schools Superintendent Steve Cochrane, town administrator Marc Dashield, Councilwoman Heather Howard, and Lieutenant Robert Toole at a public meeting Thursday at John Witherspoon Middle School. “I understand the stress you feel,” Ms. Lempert said to the the assembled parents, “not just as mayor, but as a parent.” Mr. Sutter, the father of three boys in a neighboring district that has also been receiving the threats, said that resources on the state and national level are being utilized in efforts to combat the ongoing incidents. There have been approximately 14 threats to Princeton since January, six of which have been directed at public schools. Recently, Mr. Sutter said, there were 19 threats made in New Jersey on the same day. “We’re taking a heavy hit here in Princeton,” Mr. Sutter said. “But these are happening all over the country, from private homes to The White House.” Calls have come in either pre-recorded or via computer synthesizers, through Internet-based phones that do not have phone numbers that can be traced. While all of the threats so far have been considered hoaxes, every one is treated as if it were real. The trend started among the video game community, Mr. Sutter said. Users would seek revenge against other gamers by calling in threats and then watching police response live from the video camera in their home computers. “Then, they’d get recognition for doing it,” Mr. Sutter said. “But now, they’ve gone to a different level.” When calls come in, they threaten “a horrible act,” Mr. Sutter said. “It may be repeated, or it disconnects.” Police “get in and get out and make it as safe as possible” in response to the calls, which Continued on Page 4
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Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Council Considers Tour Buses, Affordable Housing
For the past 10 weeks, members of an ad hoc committee have been trying to come up with a solution to the problem of tour buses on Nassau Street. The vehicles have caused concern chiefly because they hog valuable parking spaces while waiting for their passengers to shoot quick photographs of Princeton University and maybe grab a coffee at Starbucks before reboarding and leaving town. Led by Bob Altman, who chairs Princeton’s Traffic and Transportation Committee, the 11-member ad hoc committee has settled on a simple solution: Have the buses unload and reload passengers at NJ Transit stops on Nassau Street in front of Palmer Square. “The simplicity of this
is really terrific,” Mayor Liz Lempert said Monday night at a meeting of Princeton Council, where Mr. Altman presented the plan. At a press conference earlier in the day, Council President Bernie Miller said the committee had attorney Lisa Maddox of Mason, Griffin & Pierson do some legal research, which determined that any omnibus can stop at the designated NJ Transit locations. After unloading passengers downtown, the buses would be asked to park at a location on Alexander Street near the Dinky station and Springdale Golf Club before returning to Nassau Street to pick up passengers. The buses would not be charged a fee
for parking on Alexander Street, according to the plan. Councilwoman Jo Butler asked how the buses would be regulated, and town administrator Marc Dashield said that there is already a strong police presence on Nassau Street but details on enforcement still need to be worked out. A trial period starting around July 15 and ending September 30 is recommended, with any related parking fees and fines to be figured out after that time. Ms. Lempert said there is a list online of tour buses that visit Princeton, and suggested that those companies be sent information about where to drop passengers off and pick Continued on Page 11
IAS Housing Plans On Hold Pending Court Ruling
PALMER SQUARE BECOMES THE COMMUNITY’S PLAY ROOM: If the library is the Community’s Living Room, the sidewalks on Palmer Square were the place for playing at jaZams Summer Block Party Friday, where there were food trucks, plenty of games and activities, and a free concert with the Pig Pen Theatre Company on the Palmer Square Green. (Photo by Emily Reeves)
With the end of an archeological survey on the site where it plans to build housing for its faculty, the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), looked ready to announce preparations for the construction last week. A press briefing was called for members of the media on June 17. But at the last minute, the briefing was cancelled and a statement issued instead. According to the statement, the Institute has reached an agreement with the Princeton Battlefield Area Preservation Society (PBS) under which work at the 7-acre site close to the Princeton Battlefield State Park will be limited to construction of a security fence. An Institute spokesperson said that the press briefing is to be rescheduled for a later date in July, pending the outcome of a suit brought by the Battlefield Society. In the meantime, both IAS and PBS have agreed to keep mum. “The parties agree that there will be no public statements about the agreement and the schedule of construction activities until that time,” said the IAS spokesperson. The court ruling is expected next month. Until then, work on the housing project is on hold. The housing project has faced several legal battles over the years. PBS has long opposed the Institute’s plans for seven singlefamily homes and t wo four-unit Continued on Page 11