Volume LXXVIII, Number 12
“Celebration of Black Music” Festival At Rider . . . . . . . . . 5 Princeton Fire Department Responds to Recent Fires in Town . . 8 Updated Outdoor Dining Ordinance Passed by Council . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Boheme Opera NJ Presents Carmen . . . . 16 PU Men’s Hoops Falls to Brown in Ivy Madness, Aims to Rebound as it Hosts UNLV in NIT . . 25 Making Progress in 2nd Season Back Wrestling, Princeton Resident Renda Made States for Notre Dame . . . . . . . 29
Ovid’s Art of Love Helps Preview the Bryn MawrWellesley Book Sale . . 15 Art . . . . . . . . . . . .20, 21 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 22 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 33 Green and Healty Living . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 3 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 13 New to Us . . . . . . . . . . 23 Obituaries . . . . . . .31, 32 Performing Arts . . . . . 17 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 12 Real Estate. . . . . . . . . 33 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Summer Programs . .18, 19 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Graduate Hotels Acquired by Hilton For $210 Million
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
PPS Seeks to Extend Foster’s Contract Acting Superintendent Kathie Foster will be leading the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) through June of 2025 if the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) agrees to waive a state law and allow an extension of her employment time. Foster, who has served as acting superintendent of PPS since November, has agreed to extend her tenure, and the PPS Board of Education voted 10-0 on Monday to request permission from the NJDOE to keep Foster at the helm for the next 15 months. “We firmly believe that our school district is best served by Dr. Foster’s continued leadership at this time,” the BOE wrote in an email sent out on Friday, March 15, to the PPS community. “We are beyond grateful to Dr. Foster for her kind and effective leadership, her commitment to excellence, and her dedication to students.” Board members at the meeting repeatedly emphasized the value of continuity and stability, as well as Foster’s kindness and competence and her focus on students’ well-being and success. “We appreciate that students are always at the heart of your decision-
making, and you’re moving us forward, “said BOE member Betsy Baglio. New BOE member Adam Bierman said that the district had recently been through “tumultuous” times, and noted that Foster “has been a salving balm and things are much smoother.” Foster expressed her gratitude to the BOE. “I love this community,” she said. “It’s incredibly student-centered.” She praised the “ impassioned, smart
community” and the abundance of “outstanding staff members.” “It’s wonderful working with a Board where we all say ‘Is this what’s best for students?’ and that’s how we make our decisions,” she added. Since Foster officially retired when she stepped down as superintendent of Robbinsville Schools in 2020, New Jersey law allows for her employment by PPS for only a limited amount of time. If the
Graduate Hotels, which is planning to open a hotel in downtown Princeton this spring, has been acquired for $210 million by global hospitality company Hilton Hotels. The news that Hilton had bought the brand from Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners (AJ Capital) was released last week, specifying that AJ Capital Continued on Page 9 will continue to own the more than 35 operating and soon-to-open Graduate properties. So what does this mean for Princeton? “It’s super exciting to be affiliated with In its 23rd year, this biggest ever Young Nearly 900 aspiring scientists gathered at a brand like Hilton,” said Michael Monarthe Frick Chemistry Laboratory at Princeton Women’s Conference in STEM is now the ca, general manager of The Graduate in University on March 15 for the Young Wom- Young Women’s Conference East, since Princeton, which combines the existing en’s Conference in Science, Technology, the PPPL has for the first time added a building at 20 Nassau Street with new Engineering, and Mathematics, sponsored second conference, the Young Women’s construction behind it on Chambers by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princ- Conference West, to be held at San Diego Street. “The fact that a guest will be able State University on May 17. eton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). to use Hilton Honors points will hope“It was a fantastic day all around — Hands-on activities, small group prefully bring people off of Route 1 and into sentations, chemistry demos, a keynote the girls were very engaged,” said PPPL Princeton, adding tax revenues to town. address, and networking throughout the Science Education Program Manager That’s a huge component. And having day introduced the young women, sev- Deedee Ortiz, who organized the conferthe sort of big machine of Hilton behind enth to tenth graders, to many practicing ence along with PPPL Science Education us down the road for support will certainly engineers and scientists and a variety of Administrator Britt Albucker, “Now we’re be beneficial and help to grow the brand.” STEM careers. Continued on Page 12 Princeton Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, who is liaison to the town’s business community, said the acquisition brings “the best of both brands” to Princeton. “The Graduate will be a nice addition to the town, and now we’ll have Hilton Honors points and a whole marketing support behind it that can garner more occupancy. At the end of the day, we want to attract people to stay in Princeton, help our small businesses, and bring ratables. And the hotel occupancy tax is really great for our residents. Commercial revenue growth is huge for us.” Mimi Omiecinski, founder of Princeton Tour Company, agreed. “Hilton purchasing Graduate will allow folks who only book through Hilton Honors points a chance to stay downtown rather than on Route 1,” she said. “Given that the town receives a two percent occupancy tax, I think this is great news.” There are currently more than 30 Graduate properties near colleges and universities in the U.S. and the U.K., catering • Vintage HOOPS HYSTERIA: Members• Foreign of the Princeton University women’s basketball team shout for joy last Sunday night to college alumni, students,Rare and their Books Books Language their assignment for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers, who topped Columbia 75-58 in the families with a blend of nostalgic-themed when they learned Books final of the Ivy Madness postseason tourney on Saturday to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament, are design and campus-related amenities. Beautiful Art Design Books seeded ninth in and the Albany 2 Region and will face No. 8 West Virginia in Iowa City, Iowa, on March 23 in a first The Princeton property is targeted round contest. For more details on the team and its postseason run, see page 24. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)
Young Women’s STEM Conference Features Experiments, Networking, and Lots of Fun
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March 20 - $30 ticket • March 21 - 24 – Free entrance Stuart Country Day School 1200 Stuart Road, Princeton