Volume LXXIII, Number 2
Senior Living Pages 22-23 Gustavo Dudamel at Trenton Music Makers Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SheTek Launches New Jersey Operations . .8 HomeFront “Week of Hope” . . . . . . . . . . . 14 A Visit to Mary Hartman’s Fernwood in This Week’s DVD Review . . . . . . . 17 PU Men’s Hoops Edges Penn in OT in Ivy League Opener . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Evaldi Growing into Force in Junior Season with Hun Boys’ Hockey . . . 35
Stephanie Sucharda Starring for No . 5 PU Women’s Hockey . . . . 31 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .24, 25 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 28 Classified Ads . . . . . . 39 Clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Dining & Entertainment. . 26 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Music/Theater . . . . . . 18 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 29 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 37 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 39 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 38 School Matters . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Installations and Appointments at Council Reorganization Meeting
At the January 3 reorganization meeting of Princeton Council, Mayor Liz Lempert swore in new members Eve Niedergang and Dwaine Williamson. Jenny Crumiller, who is in her final year on Council, was named the governing body’s president for the third year in a row. The annual meeting at Witherspoon Hall is a celebratory event of sorts. The room was filled with friends and family of Williamson and Niedergang, as well as interested community members. Two representatives from the office of Governor Phil Murphy were in attendance, along with New Jersey Assemblymen Andrew Zwicker and Roy Freiman; Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes; and Mercer County Freeholders Andrew Koontz and Ann Cannon. Former Council members Heather Howard and Lance Liverman, who were in the audience, were given standing ovations and praised by several members of the governing body. Council approved a list of appointments to boards and commissions as well as numerous professional appointments. Among them are Trishka Cecil as municipal attorney, Kimberly Lacken as municipal prosecutor (replacing Reed Gusciora, now the mayor of Trenton); Storm Water Management Consulting, LLC; and Michael Barrett as public defender for the Princeton Municipal Court. In her speech summing up the governing body’s accomplishments over the past year, Lempert said that in the next few weeks Council will take input from the boards and commissions as to developing goals for the year. Lempert’s speech made brief mention of the town’s ongoing difficulties with its new parking meters. “We’ve received significant feedback, and Council will devote a bulk of our first regular meeting to reviewing the data and citizen comments to consider adjustments,” she said. That meeting is Monday, January 14. Aside from parking, the biggest challenges of 2018 included affordability and some budget cuts, Lempert said. She cited making the Princeton Police Department “a leaner and more nimble force,” the national accreditation of the town’s health department, the opening of the renovated and rebuilt Mary Moss Playground, and the groundbreaking for Continued on Page 10
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Wednesday, January 9, 2019
New School Board Looks to Focus on Students The Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE) is off and running in the new year with major plans, priorities, and challenges for Princeton ’s schools — but is in no rush to advance another facilities referendum in 2019. Calling for a primary emphasis on the students, newly-elected BOE President Beth Behrend noted, “There has been lots of robust discussion about the schools in the past year, but not enough time to focus on students and their needs.” Despite the scaling back of referendum plans last year from $137 million to $26.9 million with the PPS seeking additional funds to combat overcrowding and renovate aging buildings, Behrend suggested that the BOE would not be rushing to seek another bond issue. “Referendum? — it’s premature for me to speculate on that,” she said in a phone interview on Monday. “We’re not interested in rushing anything. There is overcrowding and there are needs, but as a Board we need to have plenty of information in front of us. We need to update our demographic studies. We need to take our time and think through the challenges. And people in the community want to be involved.”
Noting the “wisdom, expertise, and resources” available in Princeton, Behrend emphasized the importance of collaboration and community involvement. “It’s exciting,” she said. “These plans will impact our community for the next 50 years. We’re taking time to do it in a way that’s collaborative and careful.” At the January 3 BOE meeting Betsy Baglio, returning for a second term, and newly-elected members Daniel Dart and Brian McDonald, were sworn in for three-
year terms. Behrend, starting her second year on the Board, and Greg Stanckiewicz, in his third year, were elected president and vice president respectively. Behrend noted the strength and the range of backgrounds and perspectives on the 10-member BOE. Even though there have been some indications, through the referendum process and the November election, of a rift in the group, she dismissed the idea that strong differences of Continued on Page 8
Neighborhood Buddy Program Would Back Up First Responders As the climate has become increasingly volatile, Princeton residents have grown familiar with power outages, flooding, downed trees, and other potential disasters. The town has tried to keep an eye on those who are especially vulnerable, due to medical conditions or age, by establishing a database, and offering Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) to anyone who is interested. Princeton Councilman David Cohen wants to take that preparedness a step further with a program called the
Neighborhood Buddy Initiative. Residents who participate would be a backup system, in their individual neighborhoods, to first responders who might be overwhelmed with calls for assistance during an emergency. At more than one public meeting including Council’s January 3 Reorganization Meeting, Cohen has asked that residents invite him to neighborhood gatherings so that he can make them aware of the program. “A lot of neighborhoods in town are already sort of Continued on Page 11
FUN FIESTA: A lively flamenco performance by Lisa Botalico’s Fiesta Flamenca dance group was a highlight at Sunday’s Fiesta del Día de Los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day, event at the Arts Council of Princeton. The last day of the Christmas season, Three Kings Day is celebrated throughout the world by many different cultures. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
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