Volume LXXVI, Number 40
Story & Verse Moves Inside to ACP’s Solley Theater . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Local Organizations Gear Up for November 8 Election Races . . . . . . 10 Arts Organizations Strive to Make Tickets Accessible to All . . . . 13 PU Women’s Soccer Opens New Roberts Stadium by Topping Dartmouth . . . . . . . . 28 Freshman Lygas Starring As PHS Girls’ Volleyball Starts 10-0 . . . . . . . . 29
Reading Franz Kafka After Watching U.S. and The Holocaust . . . . . 16 Art . . . . . . . . . 19, 22, 23 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 24 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 36 Hopewell Treasures . . . 21 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 14 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 25 Obituaries . . . . . . . 34, 35 October Arts . . . . . . . . 20 Performing Arts . . . 17, 18 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 36 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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PU Will Divest and Dissociate from Range Of Fossil Fuel Companies Princeton University announced last week that it would eliminate all its endowment holdings in fossil fuel companies and would dissociate from 90 companies involved in high-polluting facets of the fossil fuel industry. The University’s Board of Trustees had announced in May 2021 its intention to dissociate from “companies engaged in climate disinformation campaigns or that are involved in the thermal coal and tar sands segments of the fossil fuel industry.” The criteria used to determine companies to be put on the dissociation list were based on recommendations from a panel of faculty experts. Dissociation includes refusal to invest in a corporation, according to the University, as well as “refraining, to the greatest extent possible, from any relationships that involve a financial component with a particular company,” including “soliciting or accepting gifts or grants from a company, purchasing the company’s products, or forming partnerships with the company that depend upon the exchange of money.” Princeton University has current or recent financial relationships with 10 of the 90 companies they have listed as subject to dissociation, including Exxon Mobil, which has had a research partnership with the University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment since 2015. In order to support energy research at Princeton and to compensate for research funding lost because of dissociation, the University will establish a new fund. “Princeton will have the most significant impact on the climate crisis through the scholarship we generate and the people we educate,” said Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber. “The creation of this new fund is one of several ways that the University is helping to provide Princeton researchers with the resources they need to pursue this work.” The board of trustees vote last month was the culmination of “a two-year process that included input from stakeholders across the campus community,” according to a Princeton University press release. Students, faculty, and alumni, however, have been advocating for fossil fuel divestment for almost a decade, including a September 23 rally in front of Continued on Page 8
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Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Health Dept. Combats COVID, Flu, Monkeypox Heading into the fall season surrounded by the threat of multiple infectious diseases is not a pleasant prospect, but the news is not all bad, and the Princeton Health Department has been busy planning and carrying out flu vaccine clinics, COVID-19 bivalent vaccine clinics, and monkeypox vaccine clinics. “We are just over two and a half years into the COVID-19 pandemic, so adding another emerging infectious disease to the mix on top of our flu efforts is clearly a daunting task — not just for our department, but for all of the public health work force,” said Princeton Deputy Administrator and Director of Health Jeff Grosser. “Along with the support provided by the mayor, council, and administration, we are working closely with the state to acquire additional resources to maintain our efforts in the continued fight against these emerging diseases, while continuing to do everything else that is required of a local health department.” COVID-19 case numbers and transmission rates seem to have declined or at least leveled off in recent weeks, most reported cases are mild, and President Joe Biden has declared the end of the pandemic, but the country continues to see about 400 COVID-related deaths per day, and COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2021. The coming of colder weather, indoor gatherings, and the holidays are all further causes for concern. “We’re certainly
still on high alert for COVID outbreaks while monitoring new variants of concern, which are reported to our department via the New Jersey Department of Health and our regional epidemiologists,” said Grosser. “We are working through flu, COVID-19, and monkeypox vaccine distribution at community clinics; home visits by our public health nurses; and routine clinics at Monument Hall.” COVID-19 vaccine clinics are scheduled for Thursday, October 6, at the
Princeton Senior Resource Center, 45 Stockton Street, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; an infant clinic for the 6-month to 4-year-old age group on Wednesday, October 12, at Monument Hall, 1 Monument Drive, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; and Thursday, November 3 at La Mexicana, 150 Witherspoon Street, 5-7 p.m. Flu shot clinics will take place on Monday, October 17, 1-3 p.m. at the Princeton Senior Resource Center at 101 Poor Farm Road, Building B; Tuesday, October 18, Continued on Page 12
Revising the Princeton Master Plan Counts on Input from Community New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law requires each municipality to adopt a master plan. Princeton’s is currently being revisited, and those involved in the process are hoping members of the public will continue to weigh in by taking a new Community Visioning Survey, available at engage.princetonmasterplan.org through October 31. “The Master Plan is a legal document, but it’s so much more than that,” said Justin Lesko, Princeton’s acting planning director/senior planner. “It’s a vision for how the community sees itself and wants to grow. That’s where community outreach really comes in. It shouldn’t be one small group saying ‘This is who we are and who we want to be.’ We’re hoping to get a lot of people to take part by taking the survey.” An initial survey, Tell Us What You Want,
was posted through this past summer and focused on economic development and consumer preferences. “We were delighted that more than 4,000 people took that survey and were also pleased that about three quarters of the responses came from Princeton residents,” said Planning Board Chair Louise Wilson, in a press release. “Its findings will inform a new economic development element of the updated community Master Plan.” Lesko has been busy talking up the second survey at numerous events around town, most recently Sustainable Princeton’s eCommuter Fest held last week on the grounds of Westminster Choir College. “Some people are telling me they already took the survey, and I tell them that Continued on Page 8
FULLY CHARGED: Sustainable Princeton’s eCommuter Fest at the Westminster Choir College parking lot on Friday evening featured electric vehicles and bikes, live entertainment, food vendors, games, and more. Residents and visitors share if they have ever considered owning an electric vehicle in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Jeffrey Tryon)
SAVE THE DATE 15th Annual Wine & Food Tasting at Trenton-Mercer Airport featuring the best local restaurants, over 200 wines and varietals, exotic cars, aircraft on display, and more!
Friday, Oct. 14th 6:00 - 8:30 PM | Tickets: $80 Visit: peikids.org/tasting-event