Town Topics — Princeton's Weekly Community Newspaper Since 1946.
Vol. LXII, No. 13
 
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
FAN FAVORITES: Members of the Princeton University men’s hockey team gather on the ice at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. after topping Colgate 3-0 last Friday in semifinals of the ECAC Hockey tournament. Players from the Princeton men’s lacrosse team, in town to play Albany University, cheer in the background. The hockey team drew more cheers the next night as it topped Harvard 4-1 in the ECACH title game, winning the championship for the first time since 1997-98. This weekend, Princeton heads to Madison, Wis. to play in the NCAA tournament. Princeton is the fourth seed in the Midwest Regional, taking on No. 1 North Dakota on March 29.

Front Page

Ridge Advocacy Group Sues Township

Matthew Hersh

An advocacy group formed to prevent a proposed senior housing development along a geographically sensitive area in the northeast section of the Township formally filed suit last week against Township Committee and Mayor Phyllis Marchand, alleging that Township Hall violated environmental, zoning, and housing codes.

Township Urged to Comply With COAH Guidelines; Task Force Is Expected

Matthew Hersh

A consultant has recommended to Princeton Township Committee that the municipality comply with the state-crafted affordable housing formula, factoring in the long-term housing goals of the Township and creating a task force that would examine the guidelines in order to draft new housing code.

Board Approves Tentative Budget, Says Farewell to Two Members

Ellen Gilbert

The Princeton Regional Board of Education approved a tentative budget for 2008-2009, and said good-bye to board president Michael Mostoller and member Jeffrey Spears at its meeting last Thursday.


Other News

Library Board Reviews Goals and Looks Toward the Future

Ellen Gilbert

The news at last week’s Princeton Public Library Board meeting was mostly good. Board President Katherine McGavern reported that the board’s recently-stated goals of reviewing library employees’ benefits package, enhancing their collaboration with the Friends of the Library, and plans for the Library’s 2009 centennial celebration, are all underway.

Candidates Vie for Democratic Party Nod With Some Calling for Change in Township

Matthew Hersh

In a one-party town, the general election effectively takes place during the June primary rather than in November. And for the Princeton’s Democratic party, that vetting process has already begun.

PHS Students Stage Walkout to Mark 5th Anniversary of War

Ellen Gilbert

Chilly, damp weather did not dissuade over 100 Princeton High School students from walking out of their seventh-period classes last Wednesday in a protest marking the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq.


More of the Other News…


Sports

Sparked by Goalie Kalemba’s Cool-Headed Play, PU Men’s Hockey Wins ECAC, Heads to NCAAs

Bill Alden

As the seconds ticked down in the third period last Saturday night in the ECAC Hockey championship game, the members of the Princeton University men’s hockey team stood in unison on the edge of their bench.

With Senior Star Amo Triggering Offense, PU Women’s Lax Produces Sizzling Start

Bill Alden

Ashley Amo was a bit under the weather as she hit the field for the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team last Wednesday for its clash against visiting James Madison.

Hun Hoops Star Gratch, PDS Goalie Jabs Get Nod as Town Topics’ Top Winter Stars

Bill Alden

Some athletes pay lip service to the notion of team first but not Emily Gratch.


More Sports…


DVD Review

Joan Crawford: The Face That Launched a Thousand Close-Ups

Stuart Mitchner

Joan Crawford’s birthday was last Sunday, March 23. Though she was born in 1905, she later claimed 1908 as her birth year, so if you give her the benefit of her vanity, you could say that March 23, 2008, was her 100th birthday. She died alone in New York in 1977.


Music/Theater

Jason and the Argonauts Sail the Seas of Adventure and Romance in Mary Zimmerman’s Playful, Ingenious Staging of an Epic Tale

Donald Gilpin

The young maiden Medea, dressed in white, sits shyly in the corner of the room, as her father King Aietes defiantly rejects Jason’s plea for the Golden Fleece. She does not see the arrow shot from the bow of Eros, the god of love, traveling slowly towards her, carried in the hand of Aphrodite. The arrow pierces Medea’s heart, the red stain gradually spreads across the front of her dress, and no matter how hard she tries, Medea is unable to dislodge this arrow of love from her breast. She is at the mercy of “love the destroyer,” a helpless pawn of the gods’ intrigues, hopelessly and fatally in love with Jason.