Volume LXXVI, Number 44
Banner Attacking School Board Appears Near Shopping Center . . . . 14 Local Donation Campaigns Underway . . . . . . . . . . 16 Driving Through Stevie Nicks Country with Simon Morrison . . . . 23 Weekend Gala Celebrates Anniversaries of Theatre Intime, PST . . . . . . . . 24 PU Men’s Basketball Tipping Off Season by Hosting Hofstra . . . . . 36 Villamil Helps PHS Girls’ Volleyball Win BCSL Title, Advance in States . . . . 40
Part Two of Readers’ Choice Awards Results . . . . .32,33 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-29 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Calendar . . . . . . . . 30-31 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 46 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . 20-21 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 34 Obituaries . . . . . . . 44-45 Performing Arts . . . 25-26 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 6 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 46 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
The re-opening of Rosedale Road in August, following construction of a roundabout at General Johnson Drive and Greenway Meadows near Johnson Park School, was a relief to motorists and nearby residents. The three-month project was designed to make the intersection safer for everyone, especially after a resident was fatally struck by a motorist while crossing at the pedestrian crosswalk in August 2021. For the most part, reactions to the completed project have been positive. But some concerns aired by a few residents have prompted Princeton’s Assistant Municipal Engineer Jim Purcell to clarify some of the features, and regulations, related to the roundabout. The project is a roundabout, not a traffic circle, said Purcell. Traffic circles were originally built to allow traffic to enter at roadway speeds. “One of the first in the world was Columbus Circle in New York City,” said Purcell. “They are large, with multiple lanes. Pennington Circle and Brunswick Circle are more local examples.” There is some confusion about how to enter and exit a roundabout. “Vehicles entering are required to yield to those already in the roundabout,” Purcell said. “Those in the roundabout should not stop while traveling through. Not everyone knows this.” Specifically, the Rosedale Road project is a “mini-roundabout,” which is meant to allow the majority of traffic to maneuver around the central island at a slow speed. These scaled-down versions are built in areas where a conventional roundabout cannot be constructed due to constraints such as physical obstructions
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Wednesday, November 2, 2022
COVID, Flu, RSV — Three Viruses Threaten As the fall flu season hits earlier and with more than its usual force, it threatens to converge with a new surge in COVID-19 cases and higher-than-ever levels of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children. Public health officials have warned of the possibility of a “tripledemic” of flu, COVID-19, and RSV, with colder weather approaching, more indoor gatherings on the schedule, and most masking and social distancing restrictions relaxed. In a November 1 email, Princeton Deputy Administrator for Health and Human Services Jeff Grosser reported that local emergency department visits associated with influenza-like illnesses are higher this week than last week and higher than they were this week last year, that RSV cases have been increasing rapidly through the month of October, and that reported COVID-19 case numbers have been moving upwards — New Jersey cases up 15 percent in the past two weeks —though Mercer County and Princeton have recently remained on the “low” level of CDC COVID-19 community transmission. Grosser discussed possible causes for the increased threats from the three most prominent viruses currently circulating.
He cited “the de-escalation in pandemic-related community precautions,” like mask wearing and physical distancing, as “likely a huge driver in why we are seeing this increase in respiratory illnesses.” Grosser also noted the vulnerable immune systems of many babies, who are most susceptible to RSV. “A highly vulnerable population of babies and children may have been sheltered during pandemic lockdowns, which has led to immune systems that might not be as prepared to
fight various respiratory viruses,” he said. Before COVID-19, in worse influenza and RSV years, the country would see more than 35,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths per week, Grosser pointed out. “We witnessed a remarkable decline in respiratory illnesses like RSV and flu as the pandemic shut down schools, day cares, and businesses,” he said. “But as public gatherings increased and locations opened, we observed an increase in these cases back in the summer of 2021, Continued on Page 8
Early Voting Continues, Election Next Week; Five BOE Candidates Ramp Up for Final Push Election Day 2022, November 8, is less than a week away, and many ballots have already been cast in early voting, which started last Saturday and continues through Sunday, November 6. “It’s going really well,” said Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello in an October 31 phone conversation. “We don’t have a huge turnout yet, but people are early voting. We’d like to see higher numbers voting early, but people are still getting used to the new system.” There are three ways to vote in the upcoming election: early in person, by mail, or at your polling place on Election Day.
Registered voters can cast their ballots early at any one of seven early voting locations throughout Mercer County. There is a Princeton early voting location at the Princeton Shopping Center, and other locations can be found at vote.nj.gov. To vote by mail, voters can apply for and return a vote-by-mail ballot by following instructions at vote.nj.gov or by contacting the county clerk at mercercounty.org. The third option is to vote in person at your designated polling place (see vote. nj.gov.) between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8. Continued on Page 10
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HomeFront Holiday Market Kicks Off Hunger, Homelessness Awareness Week . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Navigating Roundabout On Rosedale Road Has Caused Some Confusion
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Local Talent is a Mainstay At Small World Coffee . 5
www.towntopics.com
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Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday at 2 a.m. Turn clocks back one hour.
HOMETOWN HALLOWEEN PARADE: Arts Council of Princeton Executive Director Adam Welch, left, and Princeton Mayor Mark Freda led the way Friday evening as the parade made its way from Palmer Square to the Princeton Family YMCA, where the festivities continued. Participants share their all-time favorite Halloween costumes in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)