August 3, 2022

Not In Our Town Recognizes Students With Unity Awards for 25th Year

By Wendy Greenberg

The racial justice group Not In Our Town Princeton (NIOT) has recognized nine middle school and high school students with Unity Awards for their anti-racism work that ranged from hosting a “Day of Dialogue,” to creating a series of podcasts featuring interviews with African American staff at Princeton High School (PHS).

In its 25th year, the Unity Awards honored six juniors and one senior from PHS and one eighth-grader each from Princeton Middle School (PMS) and Princeton Charter School, in June at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton. Also recognized were PHS teachers Joy Barnes-Johnson and Patricia Manhart for creating the Racial Literacy and Justice course at PHS.

The group also honored Shirley Satterfield, a former guidance counselor at PHS, who has a long history with the awards. A Princeton historian, Satterfield recalled that the awards were begun at three area churches, and she got involved because of her work with Pride, Unity, Leadership, Sisterhood and Esteem (PULSE) at PHS, which involved young women in academic enrichment programs.

Satterfield selected the first recipient, Alison Welski, in 1998, who now is a public health professional, and she was happily surprised by Welski’s appearance at the recent awards ceremony. 

The awards have evolved and expanded over the years, she said. A selection committee carefully goes over applications and recommendations.

NIOT is a multi-racial, multi-faith group of individuals “who stand together for racial justice and inclusive communities, focused on promoting the equitable treatment of all, and uncovering and confronting white supremacy — the system that facilitates the preference, privilege, and power of white people at the expense of non-white people and pits racial and ethnic groups against each other by upholding hierarchies based on proximity to whiteness,” according to the organization.  more

July 27, 2022

Momos Seek to Raze and Rebuild on Witherspoon

PROPOSED DESIGN: This rendering from Dowling Studios shows the vision of restaurateurs Carlo and Raoul Momo for 70-74 Witherspoon Street, where two 19th century buildings currently house Terra Momo Bread Company and A Taste of Cuba.

By Anne Levin

At an upcoming meeting of Princeton’s Planning Board, the future of a corner of Witherspoon Street and Paul Robeson Place will be considered. The property, at 70-74 Witherspoon, was the subject of a “courtesy review” held by the town’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) on July 18.

The owners, restaurateurs Raoul and Carlo Momo (CRX Associates), plan to tear down two 19th century buildings at the site, home for the past few decades to Terra Momo Bread Company and A Taste of Cuba cigar parlor. They propose to replace them with a three-story, mixed use project containing a restaurant/wine bar, bakery, and gourmet market on the first floor, and apartments on the two upper levels. The architect is Leslie Dowling, wife of Carlo Momo.

The corner has a distinctive history, but is not officially designated historic. From 1931 to 1976, it was home to a beauty salon run by Virginia Mills, whose husband was the first Black postman in Princeton. Toto’s Market, which closed in 1987 after 75 years, was also located there.

Before offering their own comments, members of the HPC heard from the Momos’ attorney Tom Letizia, and Carlo Momo. Letizia asserted that the buildings are going to be demolished no matter what, and there was no legal basis for the review because the buildings are not mentioned in the town’s master plan.

“However, we are here in good faith, and hoping that with some discussion, perhaps we can incorporate something into the plan that will commemorate the history [of the site],” he said. “I think there are ways we can show evidence of that history, and tell the public who will be customers of this new restaurant — and even the apartment tenants above — about the history that occurred on this property.”

Carlo Momo said that since CRX Associates bought the buildings nearly 25 years ago, neighboring Princeton Public Library and the Arts Council of Princeton were reconstructed, the Residences at Palmer Square was built, and the site housing the restaurants Elements and Mistral underwent a substantial reconstruction. The presence of dumpsters, closings of Witherspoon Street, and other factors related to these projects caused major disruptions and financial strain for the two businesses. more

Challengers Take On Three Incumbents In School Board Race

By Donald Gilpin

Three incumbents and two new candidates will be competing for three positions on the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE) in the upcoming November 8 election.

At the 4 p.m. Monday, July 25 deadline, new candidates Lishian “Lisa” Wu and Margarita Rafalovsky, along with incumbents Debbie Bronfeld, Susan Kanter, and Dafna Kendal, had filed with the Mercer County Clerk to run for three-year terms on the Princeton BOE. Bronfeld and Kendal, who is currently BOE president, will be running for their third terms, and Kanter will be seeking her second term in office.

Wu and Rafalovsky have not yet responded to email and phone requests for commentary on their campaigns. The three incumbents provided statements and background information for an article in the July 13 Town Topics, and all the candidates will be discussed more fully and provided a forum for their opinions in a fall issue of Town Topics.

Though a new candidate for BOE, Wu is a familiar figure on the local political scene. She ran for Princeton Council in 2018 on the Republican ticket, losing out to Democrats Dwaine Williamson and Eve Niedergang. In 2019 she ran for Mercer County Executive and lost to incumbent Democrat Brian Hughes.

A resident of Elm Court on Elm Road, Wu was born in Taiwan and came to the United States to study at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1974. She raised three children as a single mother.  more

Council to Return to In Person, But Zoom Remains an Option

By Anne Levin

Starting on Monday, September 12, Princeton Council will be back to the pre-pandemic practice of meeting in person. The governing body adopted a resolution at its Monday, July 25 meeting, making it official.

While attending via Zoom will still be an option, Council made it clear that because internet connections sometimes fail, the only way to guarantee participation in a meeting is to show up at Witherspoon Hall. A bit later in the meeting, as if on cue, the connection went down for a few minutes.

Meetings will be noticed for gathering in person, but the technology to meet virtually will be available. Should there be a rise in COVID-19 cases, the meetings would switch back to being held virtually. “It has been part of the process of thinking that through,” said Mayor Mark Freda. “We had a trial run-through, and everything looked and sounded good. So we hope to be able to accommodate those who wish to be in person, or those who want to watch from home.”

Council voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance appropriating $388,000 to pay for replacement of the cooling tower and circulator motors at Princeton Public Library. The specific wording appropriates that amount and authorizes the issuance “of $368,600 in bonds or notes of Princeton to finance part of the cost thereof.” 

Councilman David Cohen praised the library’s engineer for providing a thorough study of operational and maintenance costs. Councilman Leighton Newlin agreed. “The cost is necessary and the all the homework has been done to assure we have made the right decision in a meaningful way,” he said. more

Climate Corps Fights Climate Change, Teaches Job Skills to Local Residents

COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE: Members of the Trenton Climate Corps are working full-time this summer to help mitigate the effects of climate change in Trenton, while learning marketable skills for future employment. Urban agriculture, revitalizing local gardens, is one of the major components of the program sponsored by Isles, Inc. with the support of community partners. (Photo courtesy of Isles)

By Donald Gilpin

Six members of the Trenton Climate Corps (TCC) team were at work in Cadwalader Park last Friday morning taking an inventory of existing trees — their location, condition, diameter, crown health — in preparation for a major planting initiative in the fall.

“Before this program I knew a little bit about trees, but I didn’t know anything about planting or how to compost or anything like that,” said local resident Malachi Brown, who has been on the job for about six weeks so far in this 12-week pilot program. “This program is about education. You really learn how to self-preserve as far as getting your own fruits and vegetables from the garden is concerned.”

TCC worker Raymond Brooks added, “It’s interesting and it’s fun. And we might be saving the future of the planet.”

Isles Inc., a community development and environmental organization, recently launched the TCC in seeking to support the local community in mitigating the effects of climate change and teaching corps members marketable skills in environmental industries to help them gain future employment.

The TCC is part of a regional and national effort. There are about 10 organizations with climate corps programs in the Delaware Valley with support from The William Penn Foundation and The Corps Network.

In addition to tree inventory and planting, the TCC crew is pursuing climate change mitigation efforts in urban agriculture, stormwater mitigation, and neighborhood cleanups, working to improve both short- and long-term viability and safety of city living.

Their work will help to combat the heat island effect that causes cities to be several degrees warmer than the suburbs, as well as improving stormwater runoff systems to help reduce the effects of flooding in the aftermath of increasingly volatile storms.

Isles Deputy Director of Community Planning and Development Jim Simon, who oversees the TCC, commented on their efforts in Cadwalader Park. He noted that the tree inventory will be part of a grant application to the state, in conjunction with other community partners, for future tree planting in the park. “The last inventory was done about 20 years ago,” he said. “There are a lot of dead trees in the park, and we’re adding new trees as well, trying to do a comprehensive inventory.” more

Nancy Whalen Takes Helm at Riverside; Barnes-Johnson Heads PPS Science Dept.

By Donald Gilpin

Nancy Whalen

Two educators have recently stepped into key leadership roles in the Princeton Public Schools (PPS). Nancy Whalen, a former principal and guidance counselor in Hamilton Township, will be the interim principal at Riverside Elementary School for the 2022-23 school year, and Joy Barnes-Johnson, Princeton High School science teacher and racial literacy educator, will be the supervisor of science for grades 6 to 12.

Whalen succeeds Ebony Lattimer, who moved to a position as assistant principal at the Princeton Middle School, and Barnes-Johnson — subject to anticipated Board of Education approval at last night’s July 26 meeting, which took place after press time — takes over the science supervisor job from Mridula Bajaj, who moved to a similar position in another district.

In announcing Whalen’s appointment, PPS Superintendent Carol Kelley praised her extensive elementary school leadership experience, her background in counseling, and “a passion for elementary education.”

“My main objective in the beginning of the year here is really to build community,” said Whalen, who has already been meeting with Riverside teachers and administrators. She has additional meetings planned with Riverside Parent Teacher Organization members in August, and in the fall is looking forward to visiting every classroom to read with the students.

“I plan to meet all the students and get to know their names, so they see me and become familiar with who I am,” she added. “That’s important.”

In addition to “opening lines of communication, reaching out, and getting to know everybody,” close collaboration with the faculty is a priority for Whalen. “There’s always room for everybody to grow, so I’m going to try and build on that,” she said. “It’s going to be a collaborative effort with teachers, families, and myself to see where we need to grow.” more

Town’s “Tell Us What You Want” Survey Open Through August 8

By Anne Levin

There is still time to weigh in on Princeton’s future. The “Tell Us What You Want” survey, seeking thoughts on everything from parking to the town’s historic character, will remain open through August 8 at least, according to Acting Planning Director Justin Lesko.

“We are getting out a Spanish version as well,” Lesko said on Tuesday, “and we’re hoping to have it ready by tomorrow.”

The survey (princetonsurvey.org), launched July 1, takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

It is the first step in the Princeton Planning Board’s process of rewriting the town’s master plan, which is almost 25 years old. Yellow signs have been posted all over town and on social media this month urging residents, employees of local businesses, visitors, and anyone else who knows Princeton to comment on what they like and don’t like about it, and what they would like to see in the future.

Most of the 42 questions are related to dining, shopping, and other aspects of life in the central business district, Princeton Shopping Center, and Palmer Square. The survey asks participants to estimate a percentage of how much they spend a month for eating at local restaurants, ordering takeout, and non-food expenses; what specific stores and restaurants should come to town; the cleanliness and overall appearance of the community; and if there should be an increased focus on tourism. Mobility for pedestrians and motorists is also a focus.  more

July 20, 2022

Summer Construction Projects Underway All Over Town

By Anne Levin

The decision by Mercer County to build a roundabout on Rosedale Road this summer came as welcome news to area residents, who had lobbied for years for traffic calming at General Johnson Drive and Greenway Meadows. Construction began a few weeks ago. But due to the behavior of some motorists — ignoring road closure signs and moving barricades — the site, where a pedestrian was killed last August, continues to be dangerous.

“Access to Johnson Park Elementary School and the park is only from the west side. You cannot go through the construction zone to get from one side to the other, but people are doing that,” said Jim Purcell, Princeton’s assistant municipal engineer, on Tuesday. “I was out there this morning with a police officer, and we actually turned three cars away. And this was while the contractors were out there doing work. It is truly a construction zone, and there are open trenches, equipment, and materials they cannot get through. I’m pleading with the public to please pay attention. Driving through a construction zone is unsafe. And so is moving barricades.”

The Rosedale Road roundabout is just one of several sites throughout Princeton where some sort of construction is in progress. In and around downtown, and on the Princeton University campus, workers are in the process of demolishing, blasting, and building.

At the Graduate Hotel project, which has closed Chambers Street in one direction as demolition has been completed along the street, things are going more smoothly than expected. The hotel is to be located in the former office building at 20 Nassau Street, with new construction along Chambers Street where a row of shops stood until recently. more

Pandemic Not Over Yet, Despite Appearance Of Normality in Town

By Donald Gilpin

The COVID-19 virus, in its current predominant BA.5 variant, is “still evolving rapidly,” warned White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha in a July 17 interview. But around town in Princeton it looks like the pandemic is over, with most people behaving normally, showing little hesitation to go out and few masks in evidence.

Infection rates seem to have leveled off locally, but nationwide they’re rising. Is Princeton prepared for the fall flu and back-to-school season, with cooler weather and activities moving indoors?

Princeton Board of Health Chair George DiFerdinando noted that we’re still not out of the woods, and he emphasized some essential guidance based on lessons learned from the pandemic so far.

“While it’s clear that many people have moved on from mask wearing and social distancing, there are still clear benefits to both those non-pharmaceutical interventions,” he wrote in an email Tuesday. “BA.5 is the most infectious variant yet, with its impact on severe disease being ‘softened’ by the high rates of vaccination in New Jersey in general and Princeton in particular.”

He continued, “We do know that BA.5 can cause infection and disease even if you’re fully vaccinated and boosted. If you have other health conditions that might make a case of COVID worse, if you’re older, or if you’re planning to attend a large event that you really don’t want to miss, mask wearing, keeping your distance, and shopping or dining during ‘off hours’ still make sense.”

The BA.5 subvariant has been described by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “a variant of concern,” which accounted for about 65 percent of all new infections last week.

New Jersey reported a COVID-19 transmission rate of 1.11 on Monday, up from 1.10 over the weekend, with any number above 1 indicating that the outbreak is expanding, with each new case leading to more than one additional new case.

Mercer County is considered in the medium risk category for COVID-19 transmission, along with Hunterdon, Salem, and  Cumberland counties.

All 17 other New Jersey counties are now considered high risk according to the CDC. more

A New Form of Public Art to Be Displayed by Arts Council

ART AND COMMUNITY: Collages like this one, by the late photographer Romus Broadway, will soon fly from banners on streets near the Arts Council of Princeton.

By Anne Levin

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) has been sponsoring a lot of public art in recent months, mostly in the form of murals. Thanks to a resolution passed by Princeton Council last week, the ACP is planning to add 20 4-by-2-foot banners to the mix, on poles along Paul Robeson Place, John Street, Birch Avenue, and Witherspoon Street.

These vinyl banners are digital depictions of collages made by photographer and historian Romus Broadway, a beloved figure in the Witherspoon-Jackson community who died two years ago. Broadway was known for the collages he made of numerous events in Princeton, particularly involving people in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood. They come from a collection acquired from his family by Princeton University, which gave the ACP 20 of the collages in digital format that were used to create the banners.

“We’ve been displaying his collages here in our gallery every summer for the past eight years or so,” said Adam Welch, ACP executive director, “generally during the annual Joint Effort Safe Streets Program. Me being relatively new to the neighborhood and trying to get involved [Welch joined the ACP in September 2020], this was something that really interested me.”

Last month, the ACP held a “Naming Party” to help identify friends, family, and neighbors pictured in Broadway’s collages. The event was co-sponsored by the Joint Effort Safe Streets Program, the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society, and the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association. “We invited the neighbors in,” said Welch. “We saw this real sense of pride and honor, and we wanted to be able to uplift everyone, not just the people who came to the event. We wanted a public art piece that highlighted the art, but also brought the community together.” more

“In Lunch With Love” Exhibit Shows Work of Local Artist

DOCUMENTING A FAMILY: The Post-it notes that artist Karen Stolper tucked into her daughters’ lunch boxes every day as they attended Princeton public schools became an art project that is currently on view at Princeton Public Library.

By Anne Levin

Back when Karen Stolper and her husband lived in Manhattan, he received a lifetime supply of Post-it notes after making a donation to a charitable foundation. As an artist and admitted saver, Stolper made sure the Post-it notes came with them when they moved to Princeton, where they raised two daughters and put them through the public school system.

Those 3-inch-by-3-inch squares of paper soon became the basis of an art project. Every day for 12 years, Stolper tucked tiny scenes of everyday life into her daughters’ lunch boxes. And every day, her daughters (now in college), brought the notes home again.

Some 700 of these compact works of art make up “In Lunch with Love,” a series on view at Princeton Public Library’s second floor Reading Room through August 28. Some 2,300 more are part of Stolper’s collection at her home.

In her artist’s statement, Stolper said, “This project is about all the big days and many little things that make a family, and make a life. ‘In Lunch with Love’ is a reminder that our children have the most important place in our hearts, souls, and funny bones, no matter where they are.”

“They were about universal things, but also things just between us,” Stolper said in an interview. “They were about things as small as when we had ants in the kitchen, and as big as a birthday party. They started to show themselves as a story of what it’s like to grow up. They became a document of our family.”

A graduate of the Parsons School of Design, Stolper works in acrylic paint and pen-and-ink. Her illustrations have appeared in newspapers, magazines, book covers, greeting cards, art stamps, and paper goods. In addition to her illustration work, Stolper’s skyscapes and architectural paintings have been exhibited nationally in juried, solo, and group shows.

“As the field evolved, I did too,” she said. “I got into licensing, greeting cards, paper goods, and rubber stamps. I started working on some children’s books, too.”

With her artist’s eye, Stolper sees possibilities when others might not. “I struggle with getting rid of paper goods and art supplies,” she admitted. “The Post-it notes were there, and the project kind of evolved.” more

Local Author’s Childhood is Basis For Well-Received Youth Novel

By Wendy Greenberg

When Deanie Yasner was growing up she felt alone, left out, and out of place. Now a retired Princeton resident, Yasner’s childhood in a small town in Mississippi has inspired her middle grade novel, the story of a young girl who challenges the rules of segregation in the summer of 1953.

The book is Essie Rose’s Revelation Summer, published by Golden Alley Press in Emmaus, Pa.  As Yasner puts it in her note to readers: “I was an Old Soul child growing up in the deep South in the 1950s, a member of the only Jewish family in a town where there were so many things I did not understand; for instance, the Jim Crow laws that keep people separated by their skin tone.”

She hopes the book will help youths to discover “the power of courage, that they too, can make a difference,” she said, “One can overcome many obstacles in life with courage, perseverance, and love.”

The story is narrated by 10-year-old Essie Rose Ginsberg, “writer, loner and all-time worrier,” according to the book jacket. She “is hoping for a carefree summer,” but when the family’s beloved housekeeper is suddenly called away, Essie Rose must figure out how to navigate on her own.

The character of Essie Rose is comforted by the book Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White’s tale which is also about loss and friendship. Yasner’s fictionalized story is “based on memories that I have from growing up,” she said. “My childhood, as how I experienced it. I always felt set apart, there was very little to confirm my identity.”

On a page at the beginning of the book she quotes e.e. cummings: “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”  more

Area Residents Can Participate In Mileage-Based Pilot Program

By Wendy Greenberg

A fuel tax paid at the gas pump has subsidized the national transportation system. But what happens as less fuel is being sold, and subsequently, there is less money to fund road repairs and maintain the transportation infrastructure?

Vehicles are going farther on less fuel, points out The Eastern Transportation Coalition (TETC), a partnership of 17 states and Washington, D.C., including New Jersey. The coalition is asking for input on an alternative approach called a Mileage-Based User Fee, which is based on drivers paying for the mileage they drive instead of the fuel they buy. Princeton area residents can join a pilot program and offer input. There is no fee to participate, and there are privacy protection measures to safeguard location data.

Jim Purcell, assistant municipal engineer, says he has been a mileage-based user fee advocate for 15 years. “Cars are more efficient,” he said. He plans on signing up for the pilot program. “I don’t see a downside” to enrolling in the pilot plan, he said. In fact, he added, he proposed such a mileage-based fee to the state legislature some years ago.

Drivers can enroll by going to the website NewJerseyMBUFpilot.com and enrolling through a private company, Azuga Insight, which will ask your vehicle identification number and odometer reading.  more

July 13, 2022

Council Adopts Prospect Avenue Historic District

By Anne Levin

At a meeting Monday night, Princeton Council voted to adopt an ordinance establishing the Prospect Avenue Historic District, designating the street that is home to Princeton University’s eating clubs as the 21st such district in the town.

The unanimous vote brings to an official end a long, controversial process related to the University’s June 2021 proposal to demolish three Queen Anne Victorian houses on the north side of Prospect Avenue and move the 91 Prospect former Court Clubhouse across the street into their place, to make room for a Theorist Pavilion and entrance into the new Environmental Studies and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (ES+SEAS) complex.

Extensive protests from members of the local community and alumni, hearings in front of the Historic Preservation Commission and the Planning Board, and encouragement from Council led the University to revise the proposal. The three houses will be preserved. The house at 110 Prospect will be moved to a space behind the other two, which are at numbers 114 and 116. The Court Club building will be moved to the space where 110 currently stands.

During public comment on the ordinance, Sandy Harrison, who chairs the board of the Princeton Prospect
Foundation, said both the University and the eating clubs supported the designation of the historic district. The Princeton Prospect Foundation and the Graduate Interclub Council “met with the board chairs of the clubs to make sure they understood what it means to be a historic district,” he said.

Author/historian Clifford Zink, who wrote a book about the eating clubs and often leads tours of the iconic buildings, spoke in support of the ordinance. “Adoption will be a very positive outcome of well over a year of work by so many people to come up with a compromise solution on Prospect Avenue to maintain the quality of the historic character of the street, and also allow the University to do some very important and needed changes in a way that respects the historic character,” he said.

 more

Three Incumbents Set To Run For PPS Board of Education

By Donald Gilpin

Three incumbents — Debbie Bronfeld, Susan Kanter, and Dafna Kendal — will be running in the November 8 election to keep their seats on the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE) for another three years.

As of Tuesday morning, July 12, no additional candidates had stepped up to challenge them. The deadline for candidates to file with the Mercer County Clerk is July 25, less than two weeks away.

Bronfeld, who has lived in Princeton for more than 20 years and has two sons who graduated from Princeton High School (PHS), will be running for her third term on the Board. “My goals are to continue supporting the superintendent in not only keeping our schools clean, safe, and open for our students and staff, but to ensure every student reaches their full potential while attending PPS,” she wrote in an email.

Bronfeld looks forward to continuing her work on the BOE Operations and Student Achievement committees and as chair of the Personnel Committee and co-chair of the Equity Committee.

“In my next term I will also continue overseeing improvements in our departments and programs, creative ways to balance the budget, and creating more opportunities for our students to participate in all academic and extracurricular programs,” she added.

Kanter, with three children who have graduated from PHS and more than 20 years in Princeton, wrote, “I am seeking a second BOE term for the opportunity to use my 20 years of experience in business, multiple community volunteer roles, and recent Board service to ensure continued excellence and meaningful changes in our district.” more

Scientific Advances, Programs Proliferate At Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

FUSION PILOT PLANT: Shown here is PPPL’s National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U). The spherical device is shaped like a cored apple and can produce high-pressure plasmas — a necessity for fusion reactions — with relatively low and cost-effective magnetic fields. Temperatures of the plasma encircling the central core of the machine can exceed 10 million degrees Celsius. (Photo by Elle Starkman/PPPL Office of Communications)

By Taylor Smith

A National Academy of Sciences panel chaired by Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) Senior Physicist Richard Hawryluk has recommended that the U.S. move quickly to accelerate the development of fusion energy. According to PPPL, the panel presented the recommendation to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the sole body of non-governmental advisors charged with making science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the president and the White House.

PPPL is rapidly advancing in support of this recommendation, which calls for collaborating with private industry.

Jon Menard, deputy director for research  at PPPL in Plainsboro, said that fusion energy is the way of the future.

A potential game changer in terms of providing clean, efficient, and environmentally-sound energy, fusion energy is something that the White House is currently focusing on. This form of energy has the potential to counteract climate change and become a self-sustaining energy source. So, what exactly is fusion energy?

Menard explained, “All the energy from the sun that you see every day, that lights up our solar system and heats our planet, comes from fusion. In the case of the sun it’s hydrogen or hydrogen fusion. As gravitational forces push the nuclei together and they fuse, that process releases energy.”

“The fusion reactions themselves must reach enough heat to make the process self-sustaining,” continued Menard. “Burning plasma processes are estimated to be on course to viability in the 2030s.”

PPPL, which is managed by Princeton University for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, is a highly collaborative and international community of scientists where people from around the world share ideas and questions. Princeton University has been a longtime leader and pioneer in the field of plasma physics research. PPPL also works with private fusion companies, many of them startups, to address the scientific and technical issues that they face. PPPL is also engaged in exploring all design, engineering, and fabrication issues required to bring a pilot plant into operation.  more

Film Shows Impact on Families Who Raise a Child with Autism

“LOVE AND COMMUNICATION”: Filmmaker Jim Christy is shown at the Arizona International Film Festival, where his film, a fictionalized account of how having a child with autism impacts family relationships, had its premiere in May. (Photo courtesy of Jim Christy).

By Wendy Greenberg

Jim Christy wants you to know that he is just like any other parent who wants the best for his child. But as the father of a son with autism, his parenting experience presented him with additional challenges and decisions that can put family relationships at risk.

Christy, of Princeton, an award-winning playwright, director, producer, and actor, makes that point in his film, Love and Communication, which will have its East Coast premiere at the New Hope Film Festival on July 23. (It was shown in the Arizona International Film Festival in May.)

Christy, and his wife, artist Mary Phillipuk, have stood up to school leadership, done their own research, looked into myriad healing and educational techniques, and spent out of pocket to help their son try to reach his potential and live as independently as possible.

The film is “generating some energy” as more people hear about it, Christy says, because “people feel like these kinds of stories are not being told, stories about the impact on the family.”

While the events in the film are fictionalized, the premise is real. “When you want the best for your kid, raising a child with autism, it can be so hard on a family,” said Christy. “For my wife and I, it brought us closer together. For the couple in the film, like so many in real life, it pushes their marriage to the breaking point.”

A well-received play by Christy on which the film is based was produced at the Passage Theatre in Trenton in 2010. Why a film? ”To open the world up a little bit,” said Christy. “Expand the story, get a wider audience.” The film was shot in 2018 but was delayed during the pandemic. more

Princeton Day School Student Brings Chess Camp to Area Youngsters

HELPING HANDS: Three friends who ran a chess program at HomeFront’s Joy, Hopes and Dreams after-school program taught the game to youths who had never played the game before. They are, from left,  Jinu Ryu, Winston Ni, and Arjun Kumar.

By Wendy Greenberg

When Arjun Kumar was in fifth grade, he learned to play chess and became a competitive player. Recently, the Princeton Day School (PDS) rising senior decided he would put his passion for chess to use serving the community.

Arjun, 16, and two friends set up a program that is not for competitive players, but introduces the game to youngsters, most of whom had never played it before. It went over well.

Most of the youths in the Joy, Hopes and Dreams program at HomeFront had never moved pieces across a chess board before. But now many have a new interest, said Arjun.

The program nurtures children from birth through teenage years by providing homework help, mentoring, and cultural enrichment. It provides after-school programs on weekdays and educational and recreational programs on weekends, according to the HomeFront website. HomeFront offers housing and other services to help families break the cycle of poverty.

Arjun conducted the camp, along with classmates Jinu Ryu and Winston Ni, at the Lawrence Community Center in Lawrenceville the week of June 20 through June 24. The nonprofit organization that Arjun started last fall received a grant award, the Serve This Summer Challenge, through America’s Promise Alliance. A total of 375 grants were given to summer service projects, to young adults serving their communities. The $300 grant was used to purchase chess sets.

The program was not without challenges. “When we came there were 20-30 kids each time and a variety of ages,” said Arjun in a telephone interview. “So we were trying to teach everyone to play chess, despite the difference in ages. But after one week, a lot of kids were developing a passion for it.”

Community service is not new to Arjun, who started his own nonprofit, Helping Hands of Princeton. “Helping Hands is a volunteer initiative. We have organized food drives for HomeFront and Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), a diaper drive, and a personal hygiene drive. We help local communities,” he said.  more

Unveiling of a New Plaque Marks Site of Historic Reading in Trenton

REVIVING A TRADITION: This plaque has been re-installed on South Warren Street in Trenton, where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time in 1776.

By Anne Levin

Monday, July 8, 1776 was a historic day in Trenton. The city — then part of Hunterdon County — was among three sites (Easton and Philadelphia were the others) where the Declaration of Independence was read aloud for the first time.

Last year, 245 years to the day of that historic reading on the steps of the courthouse on Warren Street, the Kiwanis Club of Trenton revived the tradition where the building once stood. Among those reciting a portion of the document aloud was Bernard McMullan, president of the Trenton Council of Civic Associations. He got an idea.

“I knew that the first reading had taken place across the street. A plaque that had been there on a granite pedestal was gone — probably ripped off and never replaced 30 or 40 years ago,” he said. “I thought, wouldn’t it be great to restore the plaque?”

McMullan invited the Kiwanis Club to collaborate with him on an effort to find funding for a new plaque. They secured grants and support from the Mercer County Cultural and Historical Commission, and Trenton’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Culture. Local graphic artist John Gummere was recruited to create the design. more

July 6, 2022

West Windsor Planners Approve Warehouse Project

By Anne Levin

Last week, the West Windsor Township Planning Board approved the first phase of a 5.5 million-square-foot development along U.S. Route 1, Clarksville Road, and Quakerbridge Road. The vote in favor of the sprawling project was not unexpected.

“We weren’t surprised by the outcome,” said resident Tirza Wahrman, among the residents who registered concerns about traffic, stormwater management, and other issues during public comment at the Planning Board’s June 1 meeting.

The Planning Board voted 6-2 in favor of the initial phase, which includes three warehouses totaling 3 million square feet with a combined 461 loading docks and 507 trailer parking spaces. The second phase, which proposes four warehouses, has not yet come up for approval.

The applicant, Bridge Point WW LLC, also lists 150,000 square feet of retail space, 192,000 square feet of office space, a multi-pump gas station, and two hotels as part of the project.

There are 45 days to appeal the decision once the final conditions are registered. “There are a lot of very, very unhappy residents, so it is very possible that a group will file an appeal,” Wahrman said Tuesday. more

PU Math Professors Win Fields, Gauss, And Abacus Awards

By Donald Gilpin

June Huh
(Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite)

Princeton University Mathematics Professor June Huh has been awarded the 2022 Fields Medal by the International Mathematical Union (IMU) for his work in transforming the field of geometric combinatorics. At the July 5 award ceremony in Helsinki, Finland, Huh and three other mathematicians received the Fields Medals — which are presented every four years to researchers under the age of 40 — honoring their past achievements and their promise of future accomplishments.

At the same ceremony, Princeton University Professors Mark Braverman and Elliott Lieb were also honored by the IMU with awards for their contributions to mathematics and related fields. Braverman received the Abacus Medal for achievement in mathematical aspects of information science, and Lieb received the Gauss Prize for mathematical contributions with significant applications outside the field.

The IMU Fields Medal citation noted that Huh, “using methods of Hodge theory, tropical geometry, and singularity theory, with his collaborators, has transformed the field of geometric combinatorics.”

Before joining the Princeton faculty in 2021, Huh was a professor at Stanford University from 2020 to 2021 and earlier a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study and at Princeton. He was born in California in 1983, but grew up in Korea, where he dropped out of high school to devote his efforts to writing poetry. He received his undergraduate degree in physics and astronomy at Seoul National University (SNU).

Under the mentorship of Fields Medalist Heisuke Hironaka, Huh transitioned into the field of mathematics, earned a master’s degree at SNU in 2009, and eventually went on to earn his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 2014. Since then he has received numerous awards for his work in mathematics. more

Joint Effort Safe Streets 2022 Plans Nine Days of Celebrations in August

By Donald Gilpin

“Dedicated to the memory of our ancestors,” Joint Effort Safe Streets 2022 has announced nine days of tributes, education, sports, and celebration, all in the Witherspoon-Jackson (W-J) neighborhood of Princeton starting on August 5.

Three “Hot Topics” discussions will highlight the proceedings with participants considering “Reparations in New Jersey” on August 9 in the Princeton Public Library; a panel on “Racism in America: What Does It Mean for Princeton?” on August 11 at the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church; and “Education, Development, Affordable Housing, Marijuana, Candidates Forum, and More” on the agenda for August 13 at the First Baptist Church.

A Gospel Music Festival and Black Family Recognition will take place at the First Baptist Church on August 7 with 12 Black Princeton families — the Broadways, the Campbells, the Edwards, the Fishers, the Livermans, the Macks, the Maddens, the Masseys, the Newlins, the Parkers, the Smiths, and the Wells — being recognized and awarded a community print.

The W-J family remembrance program will recognize 12 Black Princeton families every year, said lead Joint Effort Safe

Streets organizer John Bailey, and the families will each receive a copy of a print created by Aaron Fisher that captures the spirit of the community.

On August 10 there will be an arts, culture, and scholarship program at the Arts Council of Princeton, featuring the Cynthia “Chip” Fisher Memorial Art Exhibit and the Jim Floyd Memorial Lecture delivered by Jennifer Garcon, Princeton University librarian for Modern and Contemporary Special Collections, who will talk about the Romus Broadway collage project currently underway under the auspices of the University and the Arts Council.

At the August 10 event additional Aaron Fisher prints will be awarded to a number of institutions in the community that have “engaged the community and made a step forward in trying to do the right thing for everybody,” said Bailey.

Other featured events in the Joint Effort Safe Streets celebration include a kick-off reception and salute to Shirley Satterfield and the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society at Studio Hillier, a W-J community tour, a series of different Meet & Greet events throughout the week, a community block festival on the YMCA field, and a basketball clinic and the Pete Young Memorial Basketball Games  on the Community Park basketball courts.  more

Local Pollinator Project Launched By Friends of Princeton Open Space

ATTRACTING POLLINATORS: Native flowering plants encourage the presence of local pollinators and beneficial insects such as this eastern monarch butterfly. (Photo by Thelma Heidel-Baker, Xerces Society)

By Anne Levin

With their bright orange wings and prominent black veins edged with delicate white dots, monarch butterflies are among the most recognizable fluttering insects. While admired for their beauty, they are also valued for the vital role they play in the natural ecosystem.

Like bees, monarch butterflies help flowering plants through the pollination process. They are also a critical part of the food web, becoming a source of food for birds, other insects, and small animals. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, three quarters of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. But climate change and other factors are posing an increasing threat. The monarch is now a candidate to be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, according to the organization Friends of the Earth.

But they are not extinct yet. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit named after an extinct California butterfly (the Xerces blue), aims to protect the natural world by conserving invertebrates and their habitat. Recently, the organization named Friends of Princeton Open Space (FOPOS) among the community partners chosen to take part in a regional pollinator program. more

University Partners with Warrior Scholars, Preparing Veterans for Higher Education

WARRIOR-SCHOLAR: Now a STEM Fellow for the Warrior-Scholar Project at Princeton University, U.S. Navy veteran Luke Hixson taught classes, provided tutoring help, and served as a student-veteran mentor at this summer’s Princeton University academic boot camp, which completed its sixth summer in operation on July 2.

By Donald Gilpin

Academic boot camp was in session at Princeton University from June 18 to July 2, as 13 student veterans, “warrior scholars,” participated in an immersive program of humanities and STEM classes taught by Princeton professors. They started classes each day at 8:30 a.m. and continued their studies — research, writing, collaborative projects — into the late night hours.

Designed to help veterans prepare for an academic environment while learning strategies to become better students, the Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) boot camp has taken place at Princeton University for the past six summers, with support from Princeton, along with foundations, corporations, and private donors, covering the entire cost of the program for participants, including an accessibility stipend of up to $500 for travel, child care, and other expenses. 

Since the partnership began, 71 veterans have attended the WSP-Princeton academic boot camp. WSP’s first boot camp took place at Yale University in 2012, and since then the program has expanded to 24 of the country’s top schools and has helped nearly 2,000 veterans get a head start in higher education.

“I know that the Warrior-Scholar project saves lives,” said U.S. Navy veteran Luke Hixson, currently a sophomore at Princeton who served as a STEM Mobile Training Team Fellow this summer after attending the University of California, Irvine boot camp in 2020. “For many transitioning service members, getting out of the military can lead to losing a sense of community or purpose in life.” more

June 29, 2022

Princeton Responds to Abortion Rights Decision

By Donald Gilpin

There was anger, outrage, concern, fear, and in some quarters joy, but little surprise in Princeton in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last Friday, June 24, to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

There were a number of rallies over the weekend in the northern part of the state, demonstrators protesting the elimination of women’s right to choose and warning of dangerous results for women’s health. Anti-abortion advocates, though much less visible in the area than their opponents, applauded the decision, and in Trenton on Saturday a gathering on the steps of the Statehouse Annex celebrated the overturning of Roe with a “Rally for Life and Justice.”

With individual states now determining whether they allow abortion, it will remain legal in New Jersey and in 23 other states. Gov. Phil Murphy — who signed a law, the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act, in January, ensuring that abortion remains legal in New Jersey — denounced the U.S. Supreme Court decision and urged New Jersey lawmakers to further expand abortion access in the state.

“While New Jersey planned for this eventuality by codifying a woman’s right to an abortion under state law, it is incumbent that we do more to fully secure reproductive rights and ensure access to reproductive health care without delay,” Murphy said. “Until we do, my administration will take the necessary steps to fully protect both New Jersey’s women and those who come to our state to access the freedom which may no longer exist in their home state.”

About six weeks ago, a draft majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito of the decision to overturn Roe was leaked, prompting demonstrations across the country, including a gathering of more than 500 at Princeton’s Hinds Plaza on May 14. Organized by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey (PPAFNJ), the demonstration drew abortion rights supporters from across the state and beyond.

Princeton University issued a statement on the afternoon of June 24, following the announcement of the Supreme Court decision, asserting that “Princeton University health care and benefits for employees and students located in New Jersey are not affected by the ruling given current New Jersey law.”

The statement went on to note that the University is still assessing how the ruling will affect Princeton University community members outside of New Jersey.  more