October 27, 2021

Town, Gown Move Forward Together On Plans for Future of Prospect Ave.

By Donald Gilpin

The mood at last Thursday’s October 21 Princeton Planning Board (PPB) meeting was celebratory, as University representatives, PPB, and community members discussed  Princeton University’s updated Prospect Avenue plans. It was a striking contrast to the contentious atmosphere that had predominated in three previous meetings and many hours of hearings over the past four months.

“I’m incredibly thrilled,” said PPB and Princeton Council member Mia Sacks. “Words escape me. How important it is for us in Princeton to find ways to hear one another and listen and to find compromise in areas that were divided and to set a counterpoint to all the division in our country. I’m so glad that we were able to do it in this situation. It’s so important for town and gown to engage in dialogue, to engage with each other, to hear one another and to find compromise.”

PPB chair Louise Wilson agreed. “I too did a happy dance when I saw this revised plan,” she said. “It’s an elegant solution.”  She went on to thank members of the municipal staff and others who had helped to bring about the resolution. ”I am very grateful,” she added. “I was losing a lot of sleep. I know a lot of people were. This was really tough.”

Until last week the University had not been able to make significant compromises in its plans to provide room for the entrance to its planned Environmental Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (ES+SEAS) complex by demolishing three Queen Anne Victorian houses and moving the former Court Clubhouse building at 91 Prospect into their place on the north side of Prospect Avenue.  more

October 20, 2021

PU Offers Compromise Plan for Prospect Ave.

By Donald Gilpin

Following several months of increasing resistance from the community — through multiple drawn-out Planning Board hearings, a rebuff from the Historic Preservation Commission, an online petition in opposition with more than 1,700 signatures, and widespread objections through public media — Princeton University has revised its controversial proposal for Prospect Avenue, as part of its planned Environmental Studies and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (ES+SEAS) complex.

The original plan called for demolition of three Queen Anne Victorian houses on the north side of Prospect Avenue and removal of the 91 Prospect former Court Clubhouse across the street into their place in order to make room for a theorist pavilion and entrance to the new 666,000-square-foot complex.

Criticism of the University plan has not questioned the importance and value of the ES+SEAS project, but it has objected strongly to the portion of the project that would have involved removal of the clubhouse building and demolition of the three Victorian houses, potentially jeopardizing Prospect Avenue’s streetscape, its history, and the culture of the community.

Following recent discussions with Princeton Prospect Foundation (PPF) and advice from the municipal staff, the University submitted an updated plan to the Princeton Planning Board (PPB) on Monday, October 18, for consideration at the Thursday, October 21 PPB meeting.

The updated plan, according to Deputy University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss, involves relocating 91 Prospect to a site across the street but closer to the North Garage than the original proposal, with two of the Victorian houses in question (114 and 116 Prospect) remaining in place and the third (110 Prospect) being relocated to a nearby site. more

No Date in Sight For Reopening Of Quaker Road

By Anne Levin

Motorists anticipating the reopening of Quaker Road between Province Line and Mercer roads may have a long wait ahead of them. Thanks to the ravages of Hurricane Ida last month, the scenic stretch favored by many drivers entering and exiting Princeton remains closed until a date to be determined.

According to an update on the municipal website princetonnj.gov, the previously anticipated start date of October 18 has been postponed as the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) awaits authorization from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). But repairs are expected to begin next week between Mercer Road and the Historical Society of Princeton located at Updike Farm at 354 Quaker Road.

It is also anticipated that the NJDOT will begin work near the canal and Port Mercer to rebuild the towpath and road embankment. Princeton will replace the guiderail once the NJDOT work is completed.

“A lot of agencies are involved,” said Princeton’s Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton.  “A stretch of the road embankment was washed away, so the guiderail is hanging in the air, which just isn’t safe.” more

COVID Cases Down, As Princeton Prepares For Colder Weather, Upcoming Holiday Season

By Donald Gilpin

As the cold weather arrived last fall, activities moved indoors, holiday social gatherings proliferated, and the COVID-19 pandemic saw its greatest surge in cases. From December 12-18, 2020 Princeton registered its highest seven-day total of 39 new cases and, from December 8-20, 2020, its highest 14-day total of 66 new cases.

This year’s weather, movement indoors, and holiday social gatherings are likely to resemble last year’s activity, but the pandemic may see only a slight rise in case numbers rather than a surge in the closing months of 2021, according to health authorities.

“From the national and local perspective, it appears cases of Delta have peaked,” said Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser. “Holiday travel and more indoor socializing as the weather gets colder will likely contribute to scattered localized outbreaks throughout the winter. That’s the general sense of what public health experts predict at least.”

Expressing a mix of optimism and uncertainty, Grosser continued, “There is some concern that the rapid rise followed by a quick decline could rebound to a plateau at a considerable level, which could be problematic. This is what we are keeping an eye on of course as we continue to navigate not only the upcoming holidays, but continue to work through the 2021-22 school year.”

In an email Tuesday, he wrote, “Fortunately, Princeton has seen this considerable decline to levels we were observing back in early July (before the Delta surge). We are learning every day about how surges act from various variants and how we can continue to protect our residents through these changes.” more

Princeton Community Village Celebrates Construction of New Affordable Housing


SHOVELS IN THE GROUND: Residents, staff, and board members who spoke at the virtual groundbreaking for new housing at Princeton Community Village are pictured, along with Mayor Mark Freda, far left, at the October 15 event.

By Anne Levin

Unaffordable housing costs are nothing new in Princeton. As far back as 1967, it was prohibitive for many members of the population, particularly some who worked in local businesses, private homes, and at Princeton University, to live in and around the town.

That was the year that Princeton Community Housing (PCH) was founded by a group of faith-based and community organizations to balance out the town’s housing opportunities. The organization built the 35-acre Princeton Community Village (PCV) on Bunn Drive in 1975 to provide low- and moderate-income housing in a mix of apartments and townhouses. PCH also manages rental homes — 466 in all — at other locations in town including Elm Court, Harriet Bryan House, Griggs Farm, and elsewhere. 

On October 15, a new building was added to the mix. At Princeton Community Village, ground was broken for 25 new affordable homes in a three-story building, for low, very low, and moderate income households. The project is part of Princeton’s affordable housing obligation determined by the state of New Jersey.

“This is not simply a building project. It’s about building welcoming and affordable homes in a very good community,” said PCH Executive Director Ed Truscelli at the groundbreaking ceremony. Truscelli was among several speakers at the virtual event, including longtime residents, staff members, and PCH board members. more

Princeton U. and YWCA Collaboration Benefits ESL Students and Researchers

By Wendy Greenberg

A collaboration between YWCA Princeton and Princeton University will connect eight students from the YWCA Princeton’s English as a Second Language (ESL) Program with University language students who will offer one-on-one tutoring. 

Among the ESL students are:

Marta, from Columbia, who graduated from a university there as an accountant but works in a different role in the United States. She joined the YWCA last year as a level 1 student and rarely misses a class.

Also Jose, from Guatemala, who has moved from beginner level to level 4. He works in the community at jobs in landscaping and in restaurants, and hopes to give back to his country,
returning to teach English.

Sophie, from China, worked in management, but in the U.S. stayed home to raise children. She wishes to return to work and wants to improve her intermediate level of English.

They, and five others, are part of “Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy,” through the Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES), an academic program that connects the curriculum with Princeton University’s commitment to service.  more

Talk Marks 50 Years of Photography In University Art Museum’s Collection

By Anne Levin

When David H. McAlpin donated nearly 500 photographs to Princeton University Art Museum in 1971, and created an endowed professorship in photography at the University a year later, he launched the school on its way to having one of the most important university collections of photography.

McAlpin, a 1920 graduate of the University, donated the personal collection he had amassed with his wife. It included works by his friends Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe, Ansel Adams, and other landmark photographers.

“Princeton is one of the few university environments where photography is taken seriously as a topic of academic study and historical study,” said Katherine Bussard, the University’s Peter C. Bunnell Curator of Photography. Bussard will lead a virtual discussion about the legacy of McAlpin’s gift and the future of photography at Princeton on Thursday, October 28 at 5:30 p.m.

The talk celebrates the depth and history of the collection, which has grown to over 20,000 photographs by more than 900 artists, forming a comprehensive history of the medium from the 1840s to the present. Part of the popularity of photography, Bussard said, is the fact that it has become such a big part of everyday life. more

October 13, 2021

Council Approves NJDOT’s Intersection Plan

By Anne Levin

At a meeting Monday evening, Princeton Council voted in favor of a resolution that supports the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT) plan to make the entrance to Witherspoon Street, from Nassau Street, 22 feet wide.

Council had originally planned for the entrance to be 13.5 feet wide, believing that the NJDOT was on board with that figure. But state officials have indicated otherwise, it was revealed at a special meeting of Council on the Witherspoon Street redesign project last Friday morning.

Had Council voted against accepting the NJDOT’s figure, the town would not be eligible for state funding for the project, which is estimated to cost about $1 million. Because Nassau Street is part of Route 27, which is a state road, the NJDOT has jurisdiction over anything that has an impact on its traffic.

Last March, Council passed a resolution supporting the NJDOT’s preliminary preferred alternative for reconstruction of the busy intersection and replacement of the traffic signal. At the special meeting last Friday, Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton told Council that municipal staff had submitted its design, with the 13.5-foot width, to the NJDOT in June, believing the agency was in acceptance of the figure.

“We worked with them. There was an assumption we were all on board with this,” she said. “We come to learn that in September, DOT had updated their preferred alternative to be a 22-foot-wide entrance. So that was a conundrum for us. We got a letter on September 23 from DOT saying this is now the preferred alternative, and there is a possibility of losing funding going forward.” more

Five Princeton U. Professors, Alumni Win Nobel Prizes

By Donald Gilpin 

The Royal Swedish Academy has been smiling on Princeton University during the past week, with Princeton professors winning the 2021 Nobel Prizes in physics last Tuesday, October 5, and chemistry on Wednesday, October 6;  journalist and Princeton 1986 graduate Maria Ressa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, October 8; and graduate alumni David Card and Joshua Angrist winning the 2021 Nobel Memorial Prize in economic sciences this Monday, October 11.

Card, who is currently a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, received one half of the economics prize “for his empirical contributions to labor economics.” He earned his Ph.D. in economics at Princeton in 1983, and taught at Princeton from 1983 to 1996.

Angrist, who finished his Ph.D. at Princeton In 1989 and is now a professor at MIT, shares his half of the prize with Stanford University economics professor Guido Imbens “for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships.”

The Swedish Academy noted that Card and Angrist were being recognized for providing “new insights about the labor market” and showing “what conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments.”

Cecilia Rouse, chair of President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers and former dean of Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, commented, as quoted in a University press release, “Today’s Nobel in economics recognizes that investing in people — such as paying them living wages and providing quality educational opportunities — is beneficial not only to them but to society at large. It also highlights how economists can utilize natural experiments to analyze the causal impact of public policy, which has been an important advancement for the profession. Much of this work has its roots at Princeton University, and I am very proud to call the winners my friends and colleagues.” more

Local and Statewide Races Heat Up; Early Voting and Election Day Approach

COUNCIL CANDIDATES: Leighton Newlin, longtime community leader, and Eve Niedergang, incumbent council member, are running unopposed for two available Princeton Council positions in the upcoming election. With early voting starting October 23 and Election Day on November 2, races for Princeton Public Schools Board of Education, state Senate, general Assembly, county surrogate, Board of County Commissioners, and governor, along with three public questions, are also on the ballot.  (Photo by Peter Smith)

By Donald Gilpin

With races for governor, state Senate, general Assembly, surrogate, Board of County Commissioners, Princeton Council, and Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE), along with three public questions, all on the ballot,  Princeton voters have a range of options for how they cast their ballots in the coming weeks.

Locally, incumbent Eve Niedergang, and community leader Leighton Newlin, both Democrats, are running unopposed for two three-year terms on Princeton Council, and four candidates — incumbents Betsy Baglio and Brian McDonald, and new candidates Mara Franceschi and Jeffrey Liao, who have all been profiled in previous issues of Town Topics — are running for three spots on the PPS BOE.

Seeking to represent the 16th legislative district, which includes parts of Mercer, Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Somerset counties, in two seats in the New Jersey General Assembly, Republicans Joseph Lukac III and Vincent Panico are taking on incumbent Roy Freiman and Sadaf Jaffer, both Democrats. The 16th district state Senate race, for the seat to be

vacated at the end of the year by Christopher (Kip) Batemen, pits Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, a Democrat, against Republican Michael Pappas. 

Beginning next week, from Saturday, October 23 to Sunday, October 31, early voting will be available for the first time in New Jersey at Princeton’s in-person early voting location in the Princeton Shopping Center to the left of the Bagel Nook, and at other centralized early voting sites around the state. Voters who have vote-by-mail ballots can place their completed ballots in the mail, in a secure ballot drop box at the Princeton Municipal Building on Witherspoon Street or at the Princeton University Wawa/Dinky Station on Alexander Street or deliver directly to the County Board of Elections office on Election Day, November 2.  And of course voters can go to their regular polling locations on Tuesday, November 2 and vote in person. Polling places will be listed on the sample ballot mailed to voters or they can be found online, along with other election information, under “Elections” at mercercounty.org. more

Students Step Up to Help Restore Critical Sourland Habitat

BUDDING ECOLOGISTS: From left: Will Bradford, Lilly Wurtz, Eve Cooke, and Kelsy Geletej are helping to save the Sourland Mountain Region by planting trees in public parks and preserves. Not pictured is fellow intern Robert Lucas.

By Anne Levin

The Sourland forest is in trouble, and some young members of the Mercer and Middlesex county communities have been digging in to help.

In recent weeks, five student interns have been helping to battle the devastation that the invasive ash borer, the high volume of deer, and other issues have inflicted on the 90-square-mile Sourland expanse.

The Sourland Mountain Region hosts 57 state-listed, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species. Interns Will Bradford, Eve Cooke, Kelsy Geletej, Robert Lucas, and Lillian Wurtz have been busy planting this fall, getting more than 1,000 trees into the ground last month. They are on target to add another 2,000 this month.

The wide variety of trees and shrubs are planted to restore what is known as the “understory.” The interns have also worked to stabilize streambanks, begin to fill holes in the tree canopy, and provide critical habitat for resident and migratory wildlife.

“I took this internship to finally have the opportunity to help give back in a way I hadn’t been able to on my own,” said Geletej, in a press release. “It’s an amazing feeling giving back to the environment like this,” added Wurtz. “I grew up in the Sourlands, and it means a lot to me to be able to make a difference in an area that I know so well.”

Laurie Cleveland, executive director of the Sourland Conservancy, said the interns are helping to fill “a huge need.” Thanks to the invasive emerald ash borer and the over-population of deer, who eat a lot of native tree seedlings, the Sourland forest is on track to lose a million trees in the next few years. more

Eisgruber, College Leaders Urge Congress: Double Pell Grants for Low-Income Students

By Donald Gilpin

Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber and Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway, along with 42 other New Jersey higher education leaders, have sent a letter to New Jersey’s congressional delegation calling for a doubling of the maximum Pell Grant to help students from low- and middle-income families to meet college expenses.

“Doubling the maximum Pell Grant will help more students from low- and middle-income families to get to and through college,” states the letter co-authored by Eisgruber and Holloway. “That helps everyone: by cultivating talent from every sector of society, we make our state, and our country, stronger and better.”

Members of Congress, including two U.S. senators and the 12 delegates representing New Jersey in the House of Representatives, are currently in the process of developing and voting on a budget reconciliation package.

The current maximum Pell Grant award is $6,495. When it was enacted in 1972, the Pell Grant covered nearly 80 percent of the cost of attending a public four-year college, but now the Pell covers less than 30 percent of the cost.

“It is time for a dramatic recalibration of this vital program to restore the promise of Pell to make college possible for the next generation of postsecondary students,” the letter states.  more

Paul Simon at 80 — A New York Story

By Stuart Mitchner

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They’ve all come to look for America …

—Paul Simon

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon marks his 80th birthday today, Wednesday, October 13. Incredible but true, this is the first time I’ve written about him, unless you count the caption headed “A Hazy Shade of Winter” I wrote for the front page photo of a snow scene on January 26, 2011. Sharing the same page in the same issue is a photo of someone I’ve come back to again and again over the years, Simon’s fellow New Yorker, J.D. Salinger, who died in January 2010. As Holden Caulfield would say, “if you really want to know about it,” I’ve always thought of Simon as a Salinger character, like maybe Holden’s brilliant, long lost song-writing baseball-playing cousin from Queens.

Also incredible but true, the last time I was in the city was in early November 2019, for the J.D. Salinger centenary exhibit at the New York Public Library. And the last time I was in Simon’s New York was the other night listening to “Bleecker Street” and “The Sound of Silence” from Simon and Garfunkel’s debut album, Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.

He’s In Your Head

Comparing poetry and popular music, Billy Collins, another New Yorker who grew up in Queens, points out that because “pop songs get into people’s heads as they listen in the car, you don’t have to memorize a Paul Simon song; it’s just in your head and you can sing along. With a poem you have to will yourself to memorize it.”

The Simon songs playing most often in my head over the years along with “Sounds of Silence” have been “Dangling Conversation,” “Homeward Bound,” “59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy)” “Slip Slidin’ Away,” “The Boxer,” and “America,” along with lines like “Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you,” from “Mrs. Robinson,” the song heard ‘round the nation on the soundtrack of The Graduate (1966). more

October 6, 2021

Health Dept. Sees COVID Cases “Plateauing”

By Donald Gilpin

With 12 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the previous seven days and 29 cases in the previous 14 days, Monday’s report from the Princeton Health Department looked promising to Princeton Health Officer Jeff Grosser, but he was not making any predictions.

After surges in case numbers in Princeton in July and August, September’s final totals were down 21 percent from the previous month. “Our weekly and biweekly case counts are a little under 50 percent of our peak witnessed in the second week in September,” said Grosser, “but I’m more and more skeptical of predictions of what the virus will do next within communities.”

He continued, “So much has been learned with the recent surge of cases, including how quickly things can change with this virus.” He emphasized the importance of trying to increase vaccination rates worldwide, along with keeping a close watch on new variants and their trajectories.

Grosser went on to discuss the three main surges of cases — spring 2020, winter 2020-21, and late summer 2021 — noting that Princeton generally followed the regional/state pattern, but lagged two or three weeks behind with its surges and declines.

“We know that the vaccinations have drastically reduced severe illness, hospitalizations, and death,” he said. “What we are still determining is the ebb and flow of the virus and how we as a community can prevent or slow down surges. Yes, masks, physical distancing, and capacity restrictions work, but ultimately the virus will impact anyone vulnerable so long as there are still cases circulating. The key is decreasing that vulnerable number by getting vaccines into arms.” more

Council Considering Forming a Task Force On Structural Racism

By Anne Levin

At its September 27 meeting, Princeton Council was asked to consider establishing a task force to help address racism as a public health crisis. Princeton Board of Health member Darrell Penn, who chairs a committee on the subject, made the request during a brief presentation.

“The resolution asks that you consider setting up a task force that would be empowered to really bring community stakeholders together in order to tackle what is a very significant and complicated issue,” he said. “The second piece is to focus on structural systemic racism.”

Council members responded to Penn’s report with enthusiasm. There were some suggestions, including one that urged including an honorarium for those who participate, and another urging the subcommittee to make sure its efforts don’t duplicate the work on any other boards or commissions. Penn is currently working with Council President Leticia Fraga and Councilmember Dwaine Williamson to incorporate some of those suggestions, and put together a measure to be considered at a future meeting.

“This all stems back to the death of George Floyd,” Penn said in a phone conversation this week. “Soon after that, Council passed a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis, and that spoke to us on the Board of Health in a very meaningful way. We wanted to respond in kind.”

The Board of Health’s committee on structural racism was formed at the beginning of this year. Penn and colleagues had an earlier idea for a resolution, but decided against it. “We wanted to move beyond something that was just a declaration,” he said. “We wanted something action-oriented. We went through a bit of a journey as a committee. We wanted to respond to what Council had already done with its resolution. Our original thinking was to look at public health issues related to racism. We ultimately decided to really stay true to what Council had defined, and focus on racism as a public health issue.” more

Betsy Baglio Is Seeking Third Term On Princeton Public Schools Board

By Donald Gilpin

Betsy Kalber Baglio

Betsy Kalber Baglio, a former public school teacher, leader of the Princeton Public School’s (PPS) Board of Education’s (BOE) recent superintendent search, and the mother of a son at Princeton Middle School and a son at Princeton High School, is running for a third three-year term on the BOE.

In the November 2 election, she is facing another incumbent, Brian McDonald, and two new candidates, Mara Franceschi and Jeffrey Liao, in the race for three available spots on the BOE.

The four candidates will participate in a virtual forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area tonight, Wednesday, October 6, at 7 p.m. It will be live-streamed via facebook.com/PrincetonTelevision, and a recording will be posted at VOTE11.org and lwvprinceton.org.

Profiles of Franceschi, McDonald, and Liao appeared in the previous three issues of Town Topics, and here Baglio shares information about herself and her views on the PPS:    

“I submit these remarks as a private citizen, and not as a member of the Board of Education.

“I am a proud public school graduate from Sturbridge, Massachusetts. I first arrived in Princeton as an undergraduate at Princeton University, and graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a certificate in the Princeton University Program in Teacher Preparation. I also hold a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I have worked as a public school teacher in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as the director of professional development for an educational collaborative outside of Boston, and as a K-12 educational consultant and grant writer. I am 46 years old. more

Documentary on George Balanchine Explores His Teaching and Choreography

MASTER AT WORK: Choreographer George Balanchine teaching in a clip from “In Balanchine’s Classroom,” which has been screening at the Princeton Garden Theatre and is coming to Philadelphia’s Ritz 5.

By Anne Levin

As a child studying at the School of American Ballet during the 1960s, Connie Hochman had an up-close view of George Balanchine, the man considered to be the most influential choreographer of the 20th century.

Along with other children at the school, Hochman was cast in The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and other ballets with roles for children that Balanchine created for the New York City Ballet.

“Those were wonderful experiences. He was such a unique combination of gentle and quiet, but extremely businesslike, productive, and focused,” she said of the Russian-born choreographer, who died in 1983. “That made an impression on me, even as a young child.”

Hochman has been fascinated by Balanchine ever since. Last month, her documentary In Balanchine’s Classroom, produced by Zeitgeist Films, opened at New York’s Film Forum and numerous theaters throughout the country. It is currently screening at the Princeton Garden Theatre and will open on Thursday at Philadelphia’s Ritz 5.

“I had this burning desire to have more to do with Balanchine,” said Hochman, who danced many works by the choreographer while a member of the Pennsylvania Ballet in the 1970s. “It was like unfinished business. I wanted more, and wanted to understand more.” more

PU Climate Science Pioneer Awarded Share of 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics

CLIMATE SCIENCE PIONEER: Princeton University Senior Meteorologist Syukuro “Suki” Manabe was awarded a share of the Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. His work in physically modeling Earth’s climate and predicting global warming provided a foundation for the future of climate science. (Photo by Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite, 2021)

By Donald Gilpin

Princeton University meteorologist Syukuro ”Suki” Manabe has been awarded a share of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work in modeling global climate change and climate variations.

Through his work over the past 60 years he has sounded a warning about global warming and “demonstrated how increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead to increased temperatures at the surface of the Earth,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which announced the award on Tuesday.

“When I got the phone call this morning, I was so surprised,” said Manabe, as quoted in a Princeton University press release. “Usually the Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to physicists making a fundamental contribution in physics. Yes, my work is based on physics, but it’s applied physics, geophysics. This is the first time the Nobel Prize has been awarded for the kind of work I have done: the study of climate change.”

Senior meteorologist in Princeton University’s Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Manabe, 90, shares the $1.14 M (10 million Swedish kronor) prize with Klaus Hasselmann of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, and Giorgio Parisi of the Sapienza University of Rome, with the work of all three contributing to understanding of climate change and how it is affected by human behavior. more

Local Pharmaceutical Company Invests in App Geared to Moms

By Anne Levin

Terra LaRock was blindsided when, after the birth of her first child, she fell into postpartum depression. As a child, family, and school psychologist, she never expected it would happen to her. When it did, she didn’t know where to turn.

LaRock’s struggles led her to found Mindful Mamas, an app devoted to the problems often faced by new mothers as well as those further along in their maternal journeys. Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., which has headquarters in Carnegie Center, recently announced it had invested in the app, “underscoring the company’s belief that digital solutions can provide ways to manage mental health challenges in real time,” according to a statement from the company. The announcement was released just before Mental Health Awareness Week, which ends on Saturday.

LaRock, who lives in Denver, founded Mindful Mamas in 2020 — five years after beginning her journey out of the depths. “There was one night I was in the nursery before work, with my daughter,” she said. “It was the third or fourth consecutive hour that she was screaming. I realized, at that moment, that all of the things that we had bought and put around the nursery, to help us be ‘good parents,’ were not going to help me. Because all I had was myself, and the way my nervous system responded to that situation.”

LaRock found mindfulness and meditation to be her pathway back to mental health. On the website mindful.org, mindfulness is defined as “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.”  more

September 29, 2021

Pipeline Project Canceled by PennEast

By Anne Levin

After more than 10 years of planning and facing opposition from environmentalists across the region, PennEast has opted to pull the plug on its proposed 116-mile natural gas pipeline.

The companies that had been advancing the project, which would have spanned areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey including Mercer and Hunterdon counties, issued a statement on Monday announcing that the project had been canceled.

“PennEast has not received certain permits, including a water quality certification and other wetlands permits under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act for the New Jersey portion of the project,” reads the statement. “Therefore, the PennEast partners, following extensive evaluation and discussion, recently determined further development of the project no longer is supported.”

This was welcome news to local environmentalists, including Jim Waltman, executive director of The Watershed Institute in Pennington.

“This is a huge victory,” he said in a press release. “Today, water, the environment, and people spoke louder than fossil fuels. We congratulate and thank the many local, state, and federal officials of both parties and thousands of residents for their determined opposition to this unnecessary and destructive proposal.”

The pipeline would have required condemnation of 42 parcels owned or controlled by the state of New Jersey. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that PennEast Pipeline Company could sue New Jersey to take the land.

“The proposed pipeline would have ripped through dozens of our state’s most pristine streams and bulldozed through more than 4,300 acres of farmland and open space that has been ostensibly preserved in perpetuity,” said Waltman.

 more

Prospect Ave. Plans Still on Hold; To Be Continued on Oct. 21

By Donald Gilpin

The clash between Princeton University and local community members over the University’s application for a zoning variance on Prospect Avenue continued at last week’s virtual meeting of the Princeton Planning Board (PPB), with dozens of speakers voicing their ideas, opposition, and proposals for compromise. After four hours of discussion, the PPB announced that the discussion would continue at its October 21 meeting, which could possibly culminate in deliberations and a final vote by PPB members.

The September 23 meeting, carried over from July 8, was the third long PPB session concerning Princeton University’s proposal to demolish three Queen Anne Victorian houses on the north side of Prospect and move the former Court Clubhouse building at 91 Prospect Avenue from across the street into their place in order to provide space to construct the entrance to its planned 660,000-square-foot Environmental Studies and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (ES+SEAS) complex.

Several different speakers proposed compromises that involved adapting and expanding the former Court Clubhouse without moving it, but the University continued to emphasize the necessity of following its original plans for moving the 91 Prospect building across the street in order to construct a gateway Theorist Pavilion for the new complex.

Towards the end of the evening, however, Princeton University Architect Ron McCoy did offer what many saw as a small but perhaps significant compromise, stating that the 91 Prospect building could be placed on the north side of the street in such a way that one of the three Victorian buildings could remain without being demolished.  more

New BOE Candidate Jeffrey Liao Presents Priorities For the Schools

By Donald Gilpin

Jeffrey Liao

In this week’s Board of Education (BOE) candidate profile, Jeffrey Liao describes his education, background, and his priorities for the future of the Princeton Public Schools (PPS).

Liao will be challenging incumbents Betsy Baglio and Brian McDonald and another new candidate, Mara Franceschi, in the November 2 election for three available positions, with three-year terms, on the PPS Board.  Franceschi and McDonald were profiled in Town Topics earlier this month, and Baglio will be featured in next week’s issue.

“I was born in NYC and grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey,” wrote Liao. “I am a second-generation Asian American. I graduated from East Brunswick High School, majored in chemistry at Johns Hopkins University, then obtained my J.D. from Harvard Law School.  Since then, I have worked as an intellectual property attorney in New York, Los Angeles, and now in Princeton as the sole U.S. patent counsel for a multinational pharmaceutical company.  I am a member of the bar of New Jersey, New York, California, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

“I moved to Princeton in the summer of 2020 for my current job. The main reason I chose to live in Princeton is because of the stellar reputation of Princeton Public Schools for providing excellent public education. more

New Health Center is Welcome Addition To Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood

NEW HEALTH CENTER: At the official opening ceremony of the Capital Health Primary Care center on Witherspoon Street, members of Princeton Council including Leticia Fraga, fourth from left; Michelle Pirone Lambros, sixth from left; and Eve Niedergang, third from right; along with Mayor Mark Freda, between Lambros and Niedergang; posed with clinic staff.

By Anne Levin

For residents of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, Princeton Medical Center’s 2013 move from Witherspoon Street to U.S. Route 1 was a major loss. But comprehensive care has returned to the neighborhood in the form of Capital Health Primary Care, housed in the former Princeton Packet building across the street from where the hospital once stood.

While the center has been in operation for a few months, an official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on September 21. Patients are offered same-day appointments and evening hours for sick visits, along with regular checkups and preventive care visits. The center covers uninsured children from newborn to age 18, and includes immunizations, physicals, and developmental screenings as well as counseling for parents regarding safety, nutrition, development, and growth.

Jeffrey Grosser, Princeton’s health officer, called the center “a game-changer for Princeton residents in need of comprehensive, accessible health services. For the last several years, health assessments performed by the Princeton Health Department regularly pointed out the lack of localized primary care for residents,” he said. “The ability to have a new, state-of-the-art facility within walking distance for many of our Princeton families should alleviate most barriers with seeing a medical professional.”

Princeton Council President Leticia Fraga, who attended the ribbon-cutting, said the center fills a void. “Several of us have been advocating for this for a long time, really since the hospital left Princeton,” she said. “We’re really excited about it. It has been working really well since the soft opening.” more

Senior Center “Transformative Evening” To Feature King Center CEO Bernice King

By Donald Gilpin

Bernice A. King

Bernice A. King, youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King and CEO of The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, will be the featured speaker at “A Transformative Evening,” hosted by the Princeton Senior Resource Center (PSRC) on October 16 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom.

“We’re excited to feature Dr. Bernice King this year,” said PSRC CEO Drew Dyson. “Much of her work has been focused on carrying out the legacy of her parents, who both were extraordinary leaders in the civil rights movement, and, in the case of Coretta, in the many years following her husband’s assassination.”

Dyson described Bernice King as “a global thought leader in issues of justice, inclusion, and equity.”  He expressed the hope that the event would spark a wider community conversation focused on the issues of racial justice and equity that King presents.

He continued, “We are at a critical place in the life of our community as it relates to racial justice, diversity, inclusion, and equity. Dr. King brings a voice that’s important not only for carrying out the legacy of her parents, but also in her own rights as a thought leader, moving society towards a more just and equitable future.”

The King Center was founded in Atlanta in 1968 by Coretta Scott King. In 1981 the organization’s headquarters were moved into the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site facility, which includes King’s birth home; the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he preached from 1960 to 1968; and the gravesites of Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife.  Bernice King became the CEO of The King Center in 2012. more

The English-Speaking Union Focuses On All Things British

DON’T FORGET THE SCONES: Lavish afternoon teas are among the activities of the Princeton branch of the English-Speaking Union, which also focuses on educational events including an annual Shakespeare competition and scholarships to summer programs in England for New Jersey high school teachers.

By Anne Levin

For more than a century, the English-Speaking Union has been holding educational and cultural exchange programs, lectures, and other events geared to Anglophiles across the nation and abroad. Prominent among them is the Princeton branch, which recently began its 2021-22 speaker series with a talk on the early years of author Agatha Christie.

Princeton is one of 65 independently run branches throughout the United States. The mostly virtual gatherings will resume October 10 with a talk on “The Mitford Sisters,” and continue throughout next spring with topics ranging from “The Psychology of Alfred Hitchcock” to “The Sport of Cricket.”

Membership is open to anyone. “Princeton being the international hub that it is, we have a large contingent of expats,” said Christian Kirkpatrick, branch president. “We have people who may have spent a significant amount of time in England. And we have people who are just Anglophiles.”

The branch has a number of members who are from England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. “I think, probably, members throughout the country feel a connection to England,” said Kirkpatrick, a writer and former editor. “But not all of the chapters are as British-centric as our branch.” more