Volume LXXIII, Number 30
Health & Wellness Pages 24-30 Trenton Music Makers Chosen for National Program . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Extreme Heat, Storms Leave Princeton Mostly Unscathed . . . . . . . . . 12 PPS School Board Candidates Gear Up . . . 13 As You Like It Comes to the Mall in Stranger Things 3 . . . . . . . . . . 15 NJSO’s Cone Institute Returns to Princeton . . . 16 PDS Grad Brennan Walks On to PU Women’s Lightweight Rowing . . . 33 Tyler Jones Stars as NJ Spiritwear Makes Summer Hoops Semis . . . . . . . . 35
PU Alum Maddox Playing for U .S . 3x3 Hoops . . . 31 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .22, 23 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 20 Classified Ads . . . . . . 37 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Music/Theater . . . . . . 17 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 36 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 4 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 37 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Council Hears Update And Approves Resolution On Climate Action Plan Princeton Council passed a resolution Monday, July 22 in support of the town’s Climate Action Plan, following an update on the measure by Sustainable Princeton. The 96-page proposal is focused on resilience, making sure that Princeton is prepared for the extreme weather that has become a regular occurrence. “It’s real, and it’s happening here,” said Molly Jones, Sustainable Princeton’s executive director, as rain pelted the plaza outside Witherspoon Hall. Jones cited several incidences of flooding, extreme heat, and falling trees caused by weather during the past three weeks. “Much of the choir is here tonight, but I wanted to reiterate the challenge of what we are facing.” Coming up with the plan, the organization’s steering committee consulted with members of the community at schools, churches, and a “Greenfest” that was attended by 700 people, said Christine Symington, programming director. A draft of the plan, posted online, received several comments. Princeton’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, Board of Health, Environmental Commission, Public Transit Advisory Committee, Shade Tree Commission, and the Sustainable Princeton Board of Trustees have all provided letters of support. Developed over a 16-month period, the plan is intended as “a roadmap to reduce Princeton’s contribution to climate change and prepare for its effects,” it reads. “It establishes an ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 (based on 2010 emissions). Achieving this goal will take the collective effort of the entire community working together to ensure Princeton remains a prosperous and vibrant town for future generations.” Impacts to Princeton by climate change include more frequent days of extreme heat, an increase in the average temperature that will affect plant and animal life, more heat-related illnesses for residents, flooding, longer dry spells, and a negative effect on air quality. So far, 16 of the 80 actions listed in the plan have been put into effect, Symington said. Progress will be reported every three years, and the plan will be updated every nine years. While supporting most aspects of the Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Proposed Mural for W-J Stirs Controversy A mural, proposed by the Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) to cover the wall of Lupita Groceries on Leigh Avenue, has stirred up controversy among the residents of the Witherspoon-Jackson (W-J) community and beyond, while raising issues surrounding the use and purpose of public art. “It’s only paint,” said Maria Evans, ACP artistic director and project director for the proposed mural, but she acknowledged that the question of the mural is complex and involves far larger questions. A meeting at the ACP last month, described as lively and at times heated, did not come to a conclusion on the future of the proposed mural. “It was a healthy conversation with many different views expressed,” said ACP Interim Executive Director Jim Levine. “People were honest and spoke about their feelings.” The conversation, at least in a larger context, will continue this Saturday, July 27 at 9:30 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Princeton in a forum sponsored by the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association (WJNA) titled “The Use of Public Art in the Urban Landscape — More Exclusively in the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood,
Princeton’s 20th Historic District.” The idea for a mural is not new. Levine explained how the project proposal came into existence. “For a number of years Maria [Evans] and others at the Arts Council have seen the blank wall at Lupita’s and thought it would be a great place for a mural,” he said. The ACP received funding through its artist-in-residence program and put together a proposal for the mural, which would be painted by former Princeton
resident Marlon Davila, with the assistance of the Pannell Center’s Princeton Young Achievers class. The ACP proposal for the mural, titled “Migrations,” notes that the “neighborhood has been home to many cultures: Princeton’s African American community, Italian and Irish immigrants, and now to a growing, diverse Latinx community over the past 25-30 years. This mural is a homage to cultures living in the neighborhood that Continued on Page 8
Council Recognizes Satterfield For Her Work as a Historian
Sixth-generation Princetonian and historian Shirley Satterfield was honored with an award of recognition at the Monday, July 22 meeting of Princeton Council. A standing-room-only crowd at Witherspoon Hall gave Satterfield, whose knowledge of local history and activism has made her something of a local legend, an ovation as she accepted her award and expressed gratitude for the honor. “I’m humbled and very thankful for this recognition,” Satterfield said after Council member Eve Niedergang presented her with the award. “Everything I do is a labor
of love,” she added, quoting from a sermon by the Rev. Lukata A. Mjumbe, her pastor at Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church. Satterfield paid tribute to numerous people and organizations with whom she has been involved during her ongoing career as a teacher, guidance counselor, researcher, historian, and tour guide. She asked members of each group to stand. Among them: the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, the Historical Society of Princeton, the former Continued on Page 12
OPEN SPACE: Sixty acres of land on Mountain View Road near Cherry Valley Road will become part of the largest green belt in Montgomery as a result of Montgomery Township’s recent acquisition of two parcels, totaling 85 acres . The piece has attracted several land development proposals over the years, but the Township is committed to its preservation .