Volume LXXI, Number 11
A Facsimile of a Youthful Journal Kept By Scott Fitzgerald Is Among the Rarities at The Upcoming Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale. . . . . . . . . 10 Princeton University Orchestra Presents Concerto Competition Winners. . . . . . . . . . . 14 PU Men’s Hoops to Play Notre Dame in NCAA Opener. . . . . . . . . . . 21 Tiger Men’s Hockey Falls in Quarterfinals. . . . . 22
A Lifelong Student and Lover of the Music of Franz Schubert, Lindsey Christiansen, Leader of the Westminster Art Song Festival, Dies . . . . . . 29 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 17 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 30 Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Music/Theater . . . . . . 14 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 20 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 28 Police Blotter. . . . . . . . 4 Real Estate. . . . . . . . . 30 Religion. . . . . . . . . . . 28 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Topics of the Town. . . . . 5 Town Talk. . . . . . . . . . . 6
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After Expansion Approval PCS, PPS Await Appeal, Law Suit Decisions The way forward for Princeton Charter School and the Princeton Public Schools remains cloudy two weeks after Acting State Commissioner of Education Kimberley Harrington approved the PCS request to expand by 76 students over the next two years. PPS has filed an appeal of the decision and will request a stay, while PPS and PCS have also sued each other for violation of the Sunshine Law [Open Meeting Act]. The District has claimed that the Charter School expansion approval will drain $1.2 million in taxes from the school budget every year, necessitating program and staff cuts or large tax increases. PCS has begun recruiting applicants for next year, under a new weighted lottery system which was included in the recent proposal as a means to increase diversity in PCS admissions. As PPS budget discussions proceed, the question has been raised as to whether a longer phase-in of more than two years on the Charter School expansion would mitigate the financial effect on the District schools. PPS Board President Patrick Sullivan, however, has rejected that possibility, suggesting instead that PCS consider a merger with the school district. Mr. Sullivan mentioned that the District had proposed a merger under which the Charter School would retain much of its autonomy. The alternative, he suggested, would be both undemocratic and expensive, necessitating a significant tax increase for the town. Criticizing the expansion as “exactly counter to what our community wanted,” Mr. Sullivan claimed that it “was done with zero input or representation from the affected parties.” Leaders from PPS and the PCS had been holding private meetings prior to the commissioner’s decision, but apparently little progress was made in reaching a resolution to the conflict. Both sides, however, have expressed frustration with the way the state’s funding laws pit public schools and charter schools against each other in the battle for limited funds, and both have emphasized the desire to work together for the good of the schools and the community. Continued on Page 12
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Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Princeton Took No Chances With Stella
With some weather websites predicting a foot or more of snow and strong winds for Monday night into Wednesday thanks to the nor’easter named Stella, Princeton’s public works and police departments were taking no chances and preparing for the worst. “We’re ready to go,” said Dan Van Mater, superintendent in the Department of Public Works, on Monday afternoon. “We’re just getting the trucks ready, and the salt dome is full. We’re replenishing what we used last Friday and we have more salt coming in today.” Some 26 people were scheduled to come in to work at midnight. “We take care of it when it starts,” Mr. Van Mater said. “We have everybody come in, as we do with every significant storm.” The same procedure was in process at the Princeton Police Department, where time off was restricted because of the storm. “We’re making sure the vehicles are gassed up and we have an extra dispatcher at the communications center, because call volume always goes up,” said Lieutenant Jon Bucchere, the department’s spokesman. Mr. Bucchere urged the public to visit the police department’s Facebook page as well as the town website to keep abreast of the situation.
“Usually we’ll start putting out messages telling people to stay off the road. You can get trees down, power lines down, traffic accidents — it can be very dangerous,” he said. “We’re going to stay really pro-active with messaging by the minute.” Teased by a run of spring weather last week that coaxed daffodils and crocuses into early bloom, New Jersey residents were taken aback at the predictions of
strong winter weather. But it has been known to snow in the state as late as April. The Great Blizzard of 1888, on record as one of the deadliest snowstorms in U.S. history, left its mark on parts of New Jersey. Other spring snow storms have been recorded since then, the most significant of which was a Category 5 (extreme) storm in 1993 that blanketed some parts of New Jersey with 20 to 30 inches. Continued on Page 7
Heather Howard Foresees Ongoing Debate Over Complexities of Healthcare Overhaul As President Trump and Republicans in Congress re-affirm their determination to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), growing voices of dissent and mounting complications threaten to prolong the debate. “It’s a tumultuous time in health care as we approach the seventh anniversary of the ACA,” said Heather Howard, director of the state health reform assistance network, Woodrow Wilson School lecturer, and Princeton Council member. Both sides prepared to continue the fight as legislators awaited the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report early
this week analyzing the cost and impact of the Republican bill to repeal and replace major parts of ACA (Obamacare). The CBO assessment is expected to warn that millions of Americans currently insured under the ACA could lose their coverage. Pointing out that this issue resonates far beyond the beltway and that it is the states that implement the ACA, Ms. Howard noted, “The states have a lot at stake. The governors have a lot at stake.” She added, “Here in New Jersey we receive more than $3 billion annually, Continued on Page 12
CASTING CALL: Here sit some contestants in the Einstein look-a-like contest, a ritual part of Princeton’s Pi Day celebration of the town’s most renowned citizen, born March 14, 1879. In this week’s Town Talk, people ponder what he might think of Princeton in March 2017. (Photo by Emily Reeves)
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