Volume LXXI, Number 9
Trap Rock Forum Draws 300 People . . . . . . . 11 PPS Reaffirms Transgender Policy . . . 10 Princeton Singers Perform in Art Museum’s Medieval Chapel . . . . 20 PU Women’s Hockey Tops Quinnipiac in ECACH Quarters . . . . . . . . . . 28 PHS Boys’ Hockey Advances to State Public A Semis . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Marking Robert Lowell’s 100th Birthday . . . . . 14 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 25 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 37 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Music/Theater . . . . . . 20 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 16 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 35 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 4 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 37 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Council Unveils Budget, Student Advisory Group Reports on First Year At a meeting on Monday, February 27, Princeton Council introduced a municipal budget for 2017 of $62.4 million. Among other business, the governing body also heard a report from representatives of the 12-member Youth Advisory Committee, which was formed last year and is made up of students from Princeton High School, The Hun School, Princeton Day School, and Stuart Country Day School. The $62.4 million budget is approximately $400,000 higher than last year’s and represents a tax increase of 2.3 percent or about $90 per household, according to a presentation by municipal administrator Marc Dashield. The budget is still a work in progress, Mr. Dashield said, and is likely to be adjusted before adoption. “This is only the beginning,” he cautioned. The unveiling of the budget comes a month earlier than in past years. Mr. Dashield and associates worked closely with the town’s Citizens Finance Advisory Committee in preparation. Initially, a gap of $2 million was projected, but through various cuts it was reduced to $1.3 million. A public hearing on the measure is set for the March 27 meeting of Council. Seven members of the Youth Advisory Committee gave a “Progress and Projections” report to Council. The group was formed to advise Mayor Liz Lempert and Council and recommend policies on matters related to young people. Members, who have been meeting monthly, conducted a survey of area youth to try and determine what issues were most important to them. They received 471 responses, 44 percent of which identified mental health initiatives as a priority. Another 12 percent suggested a focus on athletics and recreational facilities, but mental health was clearly the most frequently cited issue of concern. The group created a subcommittee which wrote a six-page guide of resources for high school students on such subjects as where to find free counseling, free food banks, scholarship information, and more. They began holding a mental health initiative at Princeton Public Library’s Friday Night Live events, and set up an “antistress wall” to raise awareness of stress relievers. The group reached out to Corner House, the psychologist at Princeton High Continued on Page 12
TRUE COMMUNITY.
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Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Citizen Scientists Plan Day of Action
A coalition of student groups will be hosting a “Day of Action” at Princeton University next Monday, March 6, in response to the Trump Administration and the current political climate. Staff and students will attend a series of teach-ins, workshops, and panel discussions at the Frist Campus Center, exploring issues of human rights, the environment, international peace, and security — all channeled toward the goal of organizing and taking action. Princeton Citizen Scientists and Princeton Advocates for Justice have put together the event, with more than 50 different sessions, most led by faculty and staff, assisted by graduate and undergraduate students. At last count, more than 1000 members of the Princeton University community, including more than 100 faculty, had signed a letter supporting a call for the March 6 campus-wide day of action. Graduate students Sebastien Philippe and Michael Helper created The Princeton Citizen Scientists organization after last November’s election in order “to better understand the situation that we all expect to face in the coming years and what actions we can take as the Princeton community to protect the ideals of equality, justice, compassion, and fact-based public policies.”
“Princeton Citizen Scientists is a graduate students’ organization that feels it is important to talk politics now, decide what you think, and what you want to do about it,” Mr. Philippe explained. “The March 6 day of action is intended as a conversation on how to think about what Trump’s victory means for the United States and for the world, and the second half of the day as a discussion of practical methods for making a difference
through organization and action.” The schedule includes a town hall meeting from 9 to 10 to start the proceedings, a panel discussion at the end of the day to discuss how to move forward, and a rich array of sessions throughout the Frist Center during the day on such topics as “Between Trumpism and Elitism: the Scientist’s Plight Under Capitalism,” “Picturing Colonialism and Continued on Page 8
AvalonBay Threatens Town With Lawsuit Regarding Dispute Over Escrow Account
In a letter to Princeton officials this week, AvalonBay senior vice president Ron Ladell accused the town of failing to provide required information that would help settle a dispute over payments to a consultant overseeing construction of Avalon Princeton, the residential complex on Witherspoon Street. Because the documentation has not been received, Mr. Ladell wrote, he plans to request a formal hearing with the Mercer County Construction Board of Appeals (CBOA). But the town still hopes to settle the issue and has been working “methodically and carefully” to look into the matter, said Trishka W. Cecil, Princeton’s municipal
attorney. “We’ve taken the concerns seriously and have been going over these invoices to see if there is any basis for what he’s complaining about. We’ve been working with him, albeit not at the pace that he would like.” The letter dated February 27, 2017 was sent to Ms. Cecil and Princeton’s administrator Marc Dashield. “Unfortunately, in light of the fact that nothing promised from our January 17, 2017 meeting has even been provided to me and no one has reached out to me to resolve this matter, it now seems clear that additional taxpayer funds will be wasted in defense Continued on Page 12
PRODUCT PLACEMENT ON HINDS PLAZA: With spring in the air, a young man’s fancy turns to cavorting in the heart of Princeton in a Town Topics t-shirt. People who were there reveal their favorite spring songs and poems in this week’s Town Talk. (Photo by Emily Reeves)
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