Volume LXXIX, Number 20
Making Music, Serving The Community are Goals of Historic Blawenburg Band . . . . 5 NJ Transit Engineers Could Strike Should Continuing Negotiations Fail . . . . . . . 9 Installation of New Pastor at First Baptist Church of Princeton to Be Celebrated First Week in June . . . . . . 11 PSO Concludes Season with Program Of Romantic Choral/ Orchestral Music . . . . 16 Producing RecordBreaking Offensive Onslaught, PU Men’s Lax Tops Towson 22-12 in NCAA Opener. . . . . . 24 Catching Fire Down The Stretch Again, PDS Baseball Surges into Prep B Semis . . . . . . 30
Orson Welles Hears the Chimes at Midnight In This Week’s Book Review. . . 15 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . 33 Home & Design . . . . . . 18-19 Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . 32 Performing Arts. . . . . . . . 21 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . . 12 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . 33 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Topics of the Town . . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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PU Pushes Back Against, And Prepares For, Federal Funding Cuts Princeton University last week announced that it was joining 12 other universities and three academic associations in a lawsuit against National Science Foundation (NSF) cuts to critical research. This was only the latest of a number of initiatives the University has taken, including statements made by its President Christopher L. Eisgruber and others, in responding to threats of federal funding curtailment and encroachments on academic freedom. Adding to the budgetary threats facing the University is the possibility of a major increase in taxes on college and university endowments, which is part of a proposed Republican tax bill to be debated in Congress this week. The lawsuit came in response to the NSF’s attempt to cut the rate at which it reimburses research universities for indirect costs, known as facilities and administrative costs, capping reimbursements at 15 percent of total direct costs. “If NSF’s policy is allowed to stand, it will badly undermine scientific research at America’s universities and erode our nation’s enviable status as a global leader in scientific research and innovation,” the lawsuit states. “The effects will be immediate and irreparable,” it continues. “If indirect cost rates are cut to15 percent, the amount and scope of future research by universities will decline precipitously. Vital scientific work will come to a halt, training will be stifled, and the pace of scientific discoveries will slow. Progress on national security objectives, such as maintaining strategic advantages in areas like AI and quantum computing, will falter. And because of all this, America’s standing as a world leader in scientific discovery will decline.” The academic associations participating in the lawsuit, which include the Association of American Universities of which Eisgruber is chairman of the board of directors, claimed, “These reimbursements help cover the real and necessary costs associated with performing groundbreaking research on behalf of the American people.” On another front, Princeton University has launched a new campaign called Stand Up for Princeton and Higher Education, which is calling on alumni, faculty, Continued on Page 8
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Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Municipality Approves Shared Services Agreement with Schools At its regular meeting on Monday evening, May 12, Princeton Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution for a shared services agreement in which the town gives 100 percent of the surplus from the annual PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement with the Avalon Thanet Circle 55-plus housing complex to the Princeton Public Schools. Nearly all members of the School Board, including Interim Superintendent Kathie Foster, were in attendance, applauding the resolution once the vote was passed. According to information in the agenda packet, the funds will go toward maintaining certain public facilities within the municipality “that are utilized for the School District’s educational needs as well as by the municipality and its residents for civic and club activities, athletic and recreational activities, election polling, and other public needs.” The issue of PILOTs has been controversial in recent years, with some local residents claiming they cheat the schools out of their share of property taxes. “This agreement is a culmination of years of thoughtful dialogue and collaboration,” School Board President Dafna
Kendal said before the vote was taken. She thanked members of the Board and Council who worked on the agreement, specifically mentioning School Board members Jean Durbin and Betsy Baglio, Council President Mia Sacks, and Councilman Brian McDonald. “As the town continues to grow,” Kendal added, “we deeply appreciate the innovation and collaboration that made this shared services agreement possible. It is a thoughtful and equitable step forward.”
McDonald, who is a former School Board member, expressed his gratitude for the work done to hammer out the agreement. “There is no question that our local schools and schools throughout the country are facing tremendous challenges right now,” he said. “One of the challenges our local schools face is a financial one. This is an important way of acknowledging the schools, providing them with critical resources that help educate our town’s children and do so in a manner consistent Continued on Page 10
June Primary, Coming Up in Four Weeks, Features High-Stakes Race for Governor
With less than a month to go before the June 10 New Jersey Primary, there’s a field of 11 candidates — six Democrats and five Republicans — in the closelywatched contest to win each party’s nomination for governor, and New Jersey voters are mostly unaware of who the candidates are and when the election will be taking place, according to the RutgersEagleton Poll. For Princeton voters, the only other competitive primary contest besides the race for governor will be the competition among three Democrats, incumbents Roy
Freiman and Michelle Drulis and challenger Mahmoud Desouky, for two seats in the general assembly. Two Princeton Council seats are on the ballot with incumbent Democrats Mia Sacks and Michelle Pirone Lambert running unopposed for reelection and no Republicans in the race. On the Republican side are Catherine Payne and Scott Sipos seeking the nomination for two seats in the general assembly, Shaolin Brown running for county clerk, and Daniel J. Hanley, Jr. and Alexander DiFalco for Mercer County Board Continued on Page 12
TALKING BOOKS: Local published authors of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry were on hand to sell and sign their books, and interact with readers, at Local Author Day at Princeton Public Library on Saturday afternoon. Attendees share what brought them to the event, and if they discovered any new authors, in this week’s Town Talk on Page 6. (Photo by Sarah Teo)
Ecosystems at Risk: Threatened and Endangered in New Jersey Explore the new exhibit on view now through March 15, 2026. statemuseum.nj.gov
205 West State Street Trenton, NJ 08608