Volume LXXVI, Number 51
Abstract Works Make Up Significant Gift to PU Art Museum . . . . . . 5 October Death of PU Student Still Under Investigation . . . 7 PPPL Works to Achieve Efficient Fusion Energy 9 Christmas Dreams with David Lynch . . . . . . . 14 NJSO Brings Handel’s Messiah to Richardson Auditorium . . . . . . . . 15 PU Men’s Hoops Loses To Delaware as Late Rally Falls Short . . . . . . . . 23 Tangen Starring as PHS Girls’ Swimming Produces 3-0 Start . . . . . . . . . . 25
Jaden Dublin Stars as PDS Boys’ Hoops Edges Nottingham . . . . . . . . 27 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 32 Happy Holidays . . . . . . 2-3 Healthy Living. . . . . 18-19 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 31 Performing Arts . . . 16-17 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 10 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 32 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban Resumes Until Next March Last Friday, December 16, was the first day of the winter ban on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, which will remain in effect through March 14, 2023, when it will be lifted for a two-month period before it returns from May 16 to September 30. During the ban “residents and landscapers shall use only electric or battery-powered leaf blowers for leaf and debris-blowing needs. Property owners and their landscape contractors are co-responsible to reduce the amount of noise and air pollution and to achieve more sustainable landscaping practices in our community,” according to the ordinance adopted unanimously by Princeton Council in October 2021 after nearly a year of deliberations. The community compliance officer has reported that 30 landscapers and 74 homeowners have received notice of violations since June. Most expressed willingness to comply without resistance. Some stated that they were not aware of the new ordinance. Landscape contractors were frustrated by the ban, the compliance officer said, but they are doing their best to comply. “No fines have been imposed this year,” she said, though, in accordance with the ordinance, a number of warnings have been issued. “This year we considered a learning year. There were challenges this year with supply chains, increased demand, and equipment malfunction, which meant landscape contractors who were working to comply either couldn’t get the equipment or their new equipment was in service for only a very short time.” She continued, “For landscapers it’s a matter of changing their mindsets. It’s not simple, not a one-to-one change from gas to electric. It’s not just a matter of changing leaf blowers. It’s changing a mindset.” Mowers, gas-powered as well as battery-powered, can be used year-round, but the ordinance encourages landscapers to replace gas-powered with battery-powered equipment. Through its Landscape Equipment Transition Fund, Sustainable Princeton has awarded up to $1,000 in financial assistance, more than $15,000 in total, to a number of qualified small landscaping companies for purchasing new equipment. Continued on Page 11
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
PPS Plans Four New Preschools for 2023 High quality preschools have proven to be a key element in closing achievement gaps for students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and Princeton Public Schools (PPS) has announced that it will be expanding its free public preschool program in September 2023 by adding four new classes and increasing the number of preschool students from 90 to 150. “High quality preschools —they have to be high quality — is a game changer in terms of equity,” said PPS Supervisor of Preschool and Special Projects Valerie Ulrich. “Kids who otherwise would not have exposure to that kind of environment come into kindergarten already with an achievement gap. By offering free public preschool, especially for families that come from those kinds of backgrounds, we close that achievement gap before it even starts in kindergarten.” The PPS began expanding its preschool program in 2019 when the district gained preschool expansion aid from the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) through a competitive process. High quality preschool has been a priority of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s
administration, and the NJDOE will be providing $3 million in additional preschool aid to support the four new classrooms. Ulrich added that money invested in high quality early childhood programs pays off in the long run, with fewer kids needing special education or extra support in reading or elsewhere in the elementary school program. PPS Superintendent of Schools Carol Kelley emphasized the importance of
early attention to students’ needs and the value of community partnerships that have come together to make this preschool expansion possible. “I am thrilled that we will be able to significantly expand our successful preschool program,” she said. “One of our key goals is to support the needs of our early learners, ages 3 to grade three. We are fortunate to have strong community partners in this endeavor.” In September new preschool classes Continued on Page 10
Delivering Aid to Ukraine is Mission Of Area Native Matthew Mateiescu Like many people, Matthew Mateiescu is home for the holidays, taking a break from the stress of his job. But unlike most anyone else, his work puts his life in danger — on a regular basis. Raised in Princeton and West Windsor, Mateiescu is vice president of Medical Disaster Response Inc., an organization that delivers humanitarian aid to people in warravaged Ukraine. For nearly 10 months, he has been perilously close to the front line, dodging Russian attacks to deliver
medical supplies to those in need. “There are times when artillery is landing 100 yards in each direction while we’re distributing aid,” he said this week. “Sometimes we do these front line runs. We move fast.” A graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, the 34-year-old is the son of Carmen Mateiescu, a composer, choir director of the Orthodox Transfiguration Chapel of Princeton University, and retired music professor at Westminster Continued on Page 8
VIGIL AGAINST HATE: Princeton Mayor Mark Freda, center, and Councilman David Cohen, second from right, were among the demonstrators at the Solidarity Vigil Against Hate and Bigotry held Saturday afternoon at Tiger Park. The event was sponsored by the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action along with the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, Not In Our Town Princeton, and the Princeton Community Democratic Organization. Participants share what brought them to the vigil in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Weronika A. Plohn)