Volume LXXIII, Number 26
www.towntopics.com
Rainbows Bedeck Town For Inaugural Princeton Pride Parade
Quick Action by Local Resident Saves Man . . . . 5 Seminary, New Eatery Among Council Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Bob Dylan Unleashed in Rolling Thunder Revue . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Princeton Festival Presents Nixon in China . . . . . . 15 Princeton Summer Theater Opens with Falsettos . . .16 PU Women’s Hoops Coach Berube Holds Introductory Press Conference . . . . . 23 PHS Football Players Johnson, Coffee Headed to Sunshine Classic . . . . . 25
Arborist Taylor Sapudar: Taking Care of Princeton’s Trees . . . . . 10 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .20, 21 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 19 Classified Ads . . . . . . 31 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Music . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 30 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 31 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
When Elizabeth Bishop wrote “everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!” in her 1946 poem “The Fish,” she may have been envisioning the scene in Princeton on Saturday, when thousands of paraders, spectators, and other celebrants in the first-ever Princeton Pride Parade marched from the Municipal Building, up Witherspoon Street, then over to the YMCA green space, where an after-party featured several speakers, music, a variety of booths, and food trucks. But the dominant theme was rainbows, with rainbow flags of all sizes; rainbow capes, dresses, shirts, tights, and socks; rainbow mouse ears, antlers, and scarves; rainbow confetti in the air; and rainbow hot pants, earrings, bandanas, and T-shirts. The weather was perfect, with temperatures in the 70s, and the mood was both festive and serious. “The fact that we had thousands of inspirational folks march with us in solidarity and celebration at Princeton’s inaugural Pride Parade, and that we were joined by many stalwart allies to the LGBTQIA community, including Governor Phil Murphy and first Lady Tammy Murphy, was delightful indeed and speaks to the importance of events such as these,” said Robt Seda-Schreiber, chief activist at the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice (BRCSJ), which organized the event. In addition to the governor and his wife, dignitaries in attendance included Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker; Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert; Princeton Council members David E. Cohen, Leticia Fraga, Eve Neidergang, Tim Quinn, and Dwaine Williamson; Maplewood Council member Dean Dafis, the first openly gay elected council member in New Jersey; 11-yearold community activitist Mani Martinez; Frank Mahood, founder of the original Princeton gay rights group; BRCSJ Community Outreach Coordinator Carol Watchler; Erin Worrell, president of the Philadelphia Freedom Band, which led the parade; Parade Grand Marshal Mike Hot-Pence; Parade Queen Lady Victoria Courtez; and community member Hendricks Davis, who sang an original song to begin the after-party proceedings. Speakers at the YMCA green space after-party emphasized the themes of LGBTQIA pride, rights, diversity, inclusion, and love. Continued on Page 11
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Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Hough Fired As Result of Ongoing Investigation Robert Hough, Princeton’s director of infrastructure and operations, has been terminated following new developments in an investigation into illegal dumping at the River Road sewer department facility. Municipal administrator Marc Dashield announced Hough’s firing on Monday. “Recent information released to the municipality from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office as part of its ongoing investigation concerning allegations of illegal dumping at Princeton’s River Road facility shows a widespread and systemic violation of municipal policies, NJDEP rules, and other regulations,” Dashield wrote in a press release. “On June 6 the direct supervisor of sewer operations was terminated. New details from the investigation indicate that the department director also did not provide appropriate oversight. Consequently, effective Monday June 24, 2019, the municipality has terminated the employment of the director of infrastructure and operations.” Municipal employees have allegedly been allowing private contractors to dump dirt, asbestos, concrete, and other materials at the River Road site in exchange for cash. The sewer department’s supervisor, Tom Hughes, was fired June 6 and has since been charged with bribery in the
second degree. An additional employee in the department was also terminated and charged with selling municipal property. According to a June 21 report by Planet Princeton, which originally broke the story, a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) representative first reported concerns to both the NJDEP and the municipality back in February, but nothing was done. Last week, the NJDEP issued a violation notice to the
town for operating an illegal landfill after four inspectors visited the site. The town has hired the Whitman company, licensed state remediation professionals who did testing during the construction of AvalonBay apartments, to test for environmental contamination or runoff as a result of the illegal dumping. In an earlier statement issued June 21, Dashield said the municipality “is launching a full review of our administrative Continued on Page 8
UN Experts Issue Renewed Call for Release Of PU Graduate Student Imprisoned in Iran
As tension mounts, with growing conflict and fears of war between Iran and the United States, Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang remains imprisoned in Iran after nearly three years, despite renewed calls for his release. Earlier this month after Iran freed Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen and permanent U.S. resident who, like Wang, had been sentenced to a 10-year prison term for alleged espionage, Princeton Graduate School Dean Sarah-Jane Leslie issued a renewed plea for Wang’s release.
In a statement last month, three United Nations experts on human rights also called for Wang’s immediate release, claiming that his arbitrary detention violates his fundamental rights under international law. “Iranian authorities’ use of espionage charges against Mr. Wang simply for having sought access to century-old historical documents reaches the level of absurdity,” said David Kaye, UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and Continued on Page 12
SHOWING THEIR PRIDE: Princeton’s first-ever Pride Parade drew thousands on Saturday as it proceeded up Witherspoon Street before turning at Paul Robeson Place for an after-party at the Princeton YMCA . Participants share what the Parade means to them in this week’s Town Talk on Page 6 . (Photo by Emily Reeves)