Volume LXXV, Number 35
www.towntopics.com
Delta Variant Surge Continues; Boosters Are Coming Soon
New Artists’ Cooperative To Open in Princeton Shopping Center . . . . . 5 Virtual Program on Affordable Housing is Joint Project of Three Synagogues . . . . . . . . 8 New Anthology on Music is Collaborative Effort . . . 16 PDS Alumna Barbara Helps PU Women’s Soccer Win Opener . . 27 Looking for Seniors to Step Up, PHS Football Kicking Off 2021 Season . . . . 32
Remembering Charlie Watts (1941-2021) . . . . . . . . .15 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .20, 21 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 19 Classified Ads . . . . . . 35 New to Us. . . . . . . . . . 26 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 33 Performing Arts . . . . . 16 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 14 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 35 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
On Monday, August 30, the Princeton Health Department reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 in Princeton in the previous seven days, 31 cases in the previous 14 days. Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser noted that the recent surge, with the spread of the Delta variant, has been about 50 percent as big as the COVID-19 surge Princeton experienced last winter. The Delta variant is “a much more contagious strain that has spread on a much different scale from what we saw with the Alpha variant,” he said. “With Delta, it felt as if once someone from a household was infected it was a waiting game for everyone else in that house. There was certainly vaccine protection in situations where households were not completely infected, but in low vaccination-rate households infection rates neared 100 percent of the dwelling’s inhabitants.” Grosser emphasized the need for mask-wearing, social distancing, and vaccinations as the way to reduce transmission of all strains of the virus. The Princeton vaccination rate, as of August 24, was 79 percent (ages 12 and over) and 98 percent for residents 65 and over. The vaccination rate for Mercer County (age 12 and over) is 65 percent, 75 percent for 65 and over. For New Jersey it’s 72 percent (12 and over), 85 percent for 65 and over, and for the United States as a whole, the vaccination rate is 61 percent (ages 12 and over) and 82 percent for age 65 and over. At least one in 10 people who live in Mercer County has been infected with COVID-19 since January of 2020, and at least one in 379 in Mercer County has died. Starting September 20, the Princeton Health Department will begin to offer booster doses to individuals who have had the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for at least eight months, and will also offer Johnson & Johnson boosters once they are approved by federal health authorities. The health department over the past two weeks has begun to provide third shots to moderately to severely immunocompromised homebound Princeton residents who have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Those individuals are eligible for a third dose 28 days after their second Continued on Page 11
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Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Schools Prepare for September 9 Opening As teachers, staff, parents, and more than 3,800 students of the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) prepare for the first day of school on Thursday, September 9, the district remains committed to in-person, full-day school for all. “The past two school years have been unprecedented for schools everywhere,” new Superintendent Carol Kelley wrote to PPS families on August 20. “This three-pronged crisis (health, financial, and social) has been overwhelming for families, students, and staff. Yet I am encouraged and optimistic about the school year ahead.” Kelley, who took over as superintendent two months ago, will be available to meet parents tomorrow, September 2, on the front lawn of the Valley Road administrative building from 9 to 10 a.m. and again from 6 to 7 p.m. She continued, “In terms of the health and safety of our students, we have a strong foundation to build on. Last school year, we had zero COVID cases transmitted in our schools. To date, we are fortunate that 77 percent of people (over age 12) in our Princeton community have been vaccinated. Through the safety protocols we have in place, we hope to maintain this record once we reopen school in September.” Kelley highlighted the dedication of
educators, parents, and community supporters and emphasized, “we are prepared to foster a school culture that’s welcoming and affirming for all, which is even more critical during this time. For the first time in over a year, our students will engage in full-day learning, five days a week in their respective school buildings.” The Princeton Health Department has been meeting weekly with many Princeton schools to discuss planning and implementation of infection control and
prevention strategies. “These are centered around increasing ventilation while maximizing instruction outside, improving of air filtration, not just mask wearing but proper wearing of quality masks, options for testing, expanded symptom checking, and quick and efficient contact tracing that removes unnecessary quarantine of students and staff,” said Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser. An “Ask the Doctor” Facebook Live Continued on Page 9
PU-Led Innovation Hub Receives $15M From National Science Foundation A new Princeton University-led regional innovation hub, seeking to promote entrepreneurial startups based on fundamental science and engineering research, has received $15 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The consortium will focus on transforming scientific discoveries into technologies that improve everyday lives, through the fields of health care, energy and the environment, computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced materials, and other areas — and enhance diversity in research opportunities and entrepreneurship. With the University of Delaware and
Rutgers University as partners, Princeton University will be the principal institution in the Innovation-Corps (I-Corps) Northeast Hub, which will also include New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rowan University, Lehigh University, Temple University, and Delaware State University (a historically Black college or university) as initial affiliates. The hub will expand, adding new affiliates each year. The Northeast Hub is one of five new innovation corps hubs announced by the NSF last week, “a diverse and inclusive innovation system throughout the USA.” With $3 million funding per year over the Continued on Page 12
HELLO PRINCETON: Cyclists head to the Princeton Family YMCA field on Saturday after completing the first leg of the 125-mile East Coast Greenway Alliance Ride from New York to Philadelphia. About 400 riders spent the night in Princeton, many camping in tents at the Y, before continuing on to Philadelphia the next morning. Participants share what they liked best about the ride in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)
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