Volume LXXI, Number 13
April 3 Deadline for PCS Weighted Lottery. . . . . 8 Not To Be Missed: Photographer Frank Sauer’s Arts Council Exhibit. . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Environmental Film Festival Includes Documentary on Martha’s Vineyard. . . . . . . . . 23 NJSO Enters New Era With Conductor Xian Zhang. . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Rev. Dr. Marilyn McCord Adams, First Woman and the First American to Hold Regius Professorship of Divinity at Oxford University, Dies . . . . . 40 PU Women’s Lax Tops Dartmouth, Stays Undefeated in Ivy Play. 33 Hun Hockey’s Brown, PHS Swimmer Tang: Top Winter Performers. . . 35
Littlebrook’s Annie Kosek To Be PPS Assistant Superintendent . . . . . . 7 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Classified Ads. . . . . . . . 42 Clubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Music/Theater . . . . . . . 23 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . 40 Police Blotter. . . . . . . . 14 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . 42 Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Topics of the Town . . . . . 5 Town Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Council Makes Amendments To Proposed 2017 Budget, Saving Some Costs At a meeting of Princeton Council on Monday evening, March 27, a public hearing was held on the proposed municipal budget of $62.4 million for 2017. Scott Sillars, chairman of the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee, presented an outline of the proposed budget, which had been introduced on February 27. Since some amendments were made by Council after Mr. Sillars’ presentation and some comments from the public, another public hearing will be held at the next Council meeting on Monday, April 3. At that time, the governing body will be able to vote on the measure unless more amendments are made. Princeton resident Kip Cherry was the only member of the public to voice comments, expressing concern about the proposed property tax rate increase. “If we are to have a diverse community, we need to hold the line of the tax rate,” she said, adding that the town should stick with last year’s expenditures instead of what was proposed. Municipal administrator Marc Dashield then outlined some cost-saving amendments. The town would use $130,000 of a $230,000 surplus to hire a planning consultant for the planned Neighborhood Character Study and master plan. The remaining $100,000 would go back into the budget. “There was a bigger surplus than anticipated,” said Mr. Dashield. Another cost-saving change involves the reorganization of the town’s health department. The position of health officer would be eliminated and become part of the job of the assistant administrator, saving approximately $75,000. Last November, former health officer Jeffrey Grosser was named to the post of assistant administrator but still served as health officer after assuming the new position. While a replacement for the health officer was originally planned, it has been decided that Mr. Grosser will continue the current arrangement. Other minor adjustments to the budget were made. “At the end of the day, there is about a $308,000 reduction in the amount taxpayers will have to pay in this year’s budget,” Mr. Dashield said. “So what was about a $90 increase when budget was introduced is now about $50.” —Anne Levin
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Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Rider Seeks Buyer to Keep Westminster in Princeton
Westminster Choir College will remain in Princeton. It just won’t be a part of Rider University, as it has for the past 25 years, it was announced Tuesday afternoon. Rider’s Board of Trustees has voted to find another institution to purchase the famed music school and keep it at its Walnut Lane campus. Rider, based in Lawrenceville, has hired PriceWaterhouseCoopers to help in the search, which Rider president Gregory Dell’Omo is confident will yield results, he said at a press conference. “Everybody’s interest, first and foremost, is to preserve the legacy of Westminster Choir College,” he said. Under the plan, an institution could purchase the campus and the school together, or buy the choir college and relocate it to an existing campus. The process is expected to take place over the course of the next 12 months. Last October, Rider began exploring the idea of selling the campus in Princeton and moving Westminster to Lawrenceville as part of a plan to help address a projected $13 million deficit. The plan was met with strong opposition from Westminster students, alumni, faculty, and key figures in the classical music world.
Joseph Polisi, president of The Juilliard School, wrote to Mr. Dell’Omo last week: “I know you are aware of the exceptionally important and distinguished role that the Choir College has played in the history of America’s classical music environment. Although I understand that your university has been grappling with economic challenges, I ask you to consider the irreparable damage that would take place throughout our musical system if West-
minster were to stop functioning.” Opponents to the proposed merger of Westminster into the Rider campus said that the two schools have very different communities that would not blend well. Their concerns were considered by the Board. “Recognizing the special nature of Westminster’s programs, the University has determined to pursue, with the Continued on Page 14
Indivisible Princeton Panelists Discuss: Will the Affordable Care Act “Explode”? The story of the Affordable Care Act is far from over, according to Indivisible Princeton’s health care panel. Last Friday Republicans in Washington withdrew legislation for their proposed new health care bill, and Democrats celebrated victory in staving off seven years of Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). President Trump, however, announced, “The best thing politically is to let Obamacare explode.” On Monday night before a gathering of about 50 at the Unitarian Universal-
ist Congregation Church on Cherry Hill Road, four experts on health care and government policy discussed what’s still at risk and how the Trump Administration, the state of New Jersey and others will continue to influence who gets care in our communities. The grassroots bipartisan organization and the lead speakers also addressed strategies for advocacy in Trenton and Washington to protect and stabilize the ACA. Panelists included Larry Epstein, Atlantic Medical Group administrator and Continued on Page 18
LAUNCHING THE NEW SECOND FLOOR: Mayor Liz Lempert cuts the ribbon Saturday, backed up by (from left) Library trustees Pam Wakefield and Andrew Erlichson; Council members Heather Howard, Bernie Miller, Lance Liverman and Tim Quinn; library trustee Ruth Miller (behind the mayor); Kevin Royer, president of Board of Trustees (out of view behind him, Melanie Stein of the Friends); and library director Brett Bonfield. A variety of responses to the renovated second floor can be found in this week’s Town Talk. (Photo by Emily Reeves)