Volume LXXVIII, Number 52
Martin Center for Dance To Celebrate Fifth Anniversary . . . . . . . . 5 SPIA Speaker Barnes Calls for Tighter Policies On Immigration . . . . . . 8 Producer of “Inconceivable Truth” Podcast to Discuss Search for Family . . . . 9 Princeton Pro Musica Rings In the Holidays . . . . . . 13 Former PU Standout Offensive Lineman Travis Helped Iowa State Produce Historic Campaign . . . . . . . . . 18 Sparked by Sophomore Dandy’s Finishing Touch, PDS Girls’ Hockey Gets Off to Sizzling 3-0-1 Start . . . . . . . . 21
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Panelists Discuss “New Era for Syria” And the Middle East On the morning of December 8, Islamist rebel troops entered Damascus, Syria’s capital. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, ending his 24year regime, which had followed his father’s 29-year rule. Ahmed al-Shara, leader of the rebel faction Hayat Tahrir alSham (HTS), which was formerly linked to Al Qaeda, has called for their terrorist label to be removed and for the U.S. and others to lift all sanctions on Syria. Many other countries, in addition to Iran and Russia, which withdrew their support for Assad shortly before the coup, are involved in Syria with various conflicting agendas. “We don’t know how that will end,” said one of the experts at a December 17 panel discussion on “A New Era for Syria,” sponsored by Princeton University’s School for Public and International Affairs. That was a sentiment that all could agree on. Offering a wide range of knowledge and perspectives, the panelists included Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs Dean Amaney A. Jamal, who also moderated the discussion; Deborah Amos, Princeton journalism professor and a longtime international correspondent at National Public Radio and elsewhere; Zaid Al-Ali, a visiting research fellow and lecturer at Princeton and the Senior Program Manager on Constitution Building for the Arab Region at International IDEA; and Marwan Muasher, who is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the former foreign minister (2002-04) and deputy prime minister (2004-05) of Jordan. The hour-long discussion included abundant information and insight about Syria’s current situation and the possibilities for its future. And the four panelists, despite their diverse backgrounds, were in agreement that the sudden fall of the Assad regime was not completely surprising, though the sudden rapid December 8 overthrow was totally unpredictable; that the future of the new regime is also impossible to predict, but more instability in Syria’s near future is likely; and that, as Amos said, “what happens in Syria doesn’t stay in Syria,” or in other words, Syria’s future will affect the future of the entire Middle East, as well as that of the U.S., which will be forced to get involved.
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Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 16 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 25 Happy Holidays . . . . . . . 3 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Obituaries . . . . . . . 23, 24 Performing Arts . . . . . . . .14
Real Estate . . . . . . . . 25 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Council Approves PILOT for Seminary Site At a meeting of Princeton Council on Thursday evening, December 19, the governing body voted to approve an ordinance granting a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement to the redeveloper of the former Tennent-Roberts-Whiteley campus of Princeton Theological Seminary. Herring Properties plans to build a 238unit apartment complex, with 20 percent designated affordable, on a 4.8 acre site. The PILOT agreement exempts the developer from taxes for 30 to 35 years, during which 95 percent in special payments are made to the municipality, and 5 percent to Mercer County. In a letter to Council earlier in the day, Princeton Board of Education President Dafna Kendal asked that money from those payments be shared with the public schools. “We hope the Council will consider our heartfelt recommendation that PILOT payments for residential development be shared with the schools, in order to help us support additional schoolchildren while lessening the cost to taxpayers of maintaining the high level of teaching and learning, robust programs, and other educational services that are expected by our community for all students,” said Kendal.
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Council members defended the terms of the PILOT, agreeing that those terms are necessary for the project to be completed. But they said that they are eager to work together with the school system on their issues. Council President Mia Sacks commented that under New Jersey’s Mount Laurel framework, municipalities have a constitutional obligation to provide their fair share of affordable housing, and public school districts have an obligation to provide “a free and appropriate education to each
resident student enrolling in their schools.” She expressed frustration that the state does not provide an efficient mechanism for coordination between housing and schools. “One of the things that troubles me is that because the state framework is so inadequate, municipal officials and school boards are often pitted against one another,” she said. “We should be working together to advocate for our legislature to provide solutions that are less piecemeal
The Paul Robeson House of Princeton (PRHP) is preparing to open its doors to the public in time to celebrate in April of 2025, the 127th anniversary of Robeson’s birth. Restoration and reconstruction of the house at 110 Witherspoon Street where Robeson was born is approaching the final stages, and the board of directors of the Robeson House is currently launching a campaign to raise $600,000 to help complete the project.
“From foundational work to the completion of essential walkways, entrances, and gallery windows, each step forward is a testament to the enduring strength of our community,” the board wrote in a recent letter to supporters. The letter emphasized the importance of Robeson’s legacy and how that legacy strengthens the community in Princeton and beyond. “As we close out the year, we’re reminded of the vital role community plays in sustaining hope during
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Robeson House Restoration Near Completion; Construction, Cultural Plans Move Forward
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THE FINISHING TOUCH: Creativity was on display at the Gingerbread House Decorating and Family Night event last week at Morven Museum & Garden. Attendees share their favorite holiday traditions in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Sarah Teo)
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