Volume LXXVII, Number 18
Annual Random Acts Of Community Program Returns . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SPIA Launches NJ-Focused Policy Initiative . . . . . . . 9 Rider University’s Bond Rating is Downgraded . . 10 In Murakami’s Library: Entrance Stones and Tombstones . . . . . . . 14 Emerson, Calidore String Quartets Join Forces for Chamber Concert . . . 15 McCarter to Present Blues For an Alabama Sky . .16 Former PU Women’s Hoops Star Meyers Looking to Make Impact in WNBA . . 25 PDS Boys’ Lacrosse Tops Gill St . Bernard’s to Win Prep B State Title . . . 30
Melvin Huang Helps PHS Boys’ Tennis Win MCT Title . . . . . . 28 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 22 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 23 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 35 Hopewell/Pennington . . 20 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Mother’s Day . . . . . . 2, 3 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 24 Obituaries . . . . . . . 33, 34 Performing Arts . . . 17, 18 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 10 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 35 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Union Workers Protest Non-Local Labor at Graduate Hotel Site An inflatable giant rat, a pig, and a cat, along with a skinny Uncle Sam and an inflated image of a construction worker have towered over pedestrians and cars outside the Graduate Hotel under construction at the corner of Chambers and Nassau Streets. A cluster of construction workers, members of the IBEW Local Union 269, has been standing on the edge of the street for several hours every day for more than two weeks, carrying signs and protesting the Graduate Hotels’ hiring of non-local workers. “The contractor on site, Academy Electric, is not from this area and doesn’t pay the wages and maintain the standards that we fight for in Mercer County,” said Robert Beerhalter, one of the demonstrators and a representative of the union. “They’re from South Jersey — Hammonton. They’re cheating us and Mercer County.” He continued, occasionally drowned out by passing cars honking their horns in support of the demonstrators, “The wages and standards that we fight for in Mercer County are able to support the businesses and living standards in the area, and the wages here don’t compare,” he said. “We’ve had great support from the community and local businesses. It would be nice to have a local contractor and local workers on this project.” Work on the hotel has been ongoing since August 2021, with completion anticipated by the end of the year. Graduate Hotels, which is run by AJ Capital Partners, focuses on college towns and has 30 other locations across the country and two in England. IBEW Local Union 269 President Wayne DeAngelo, who is also a New Jersey assemblyman, emphasized that the protests would continue. “We want to give notice to the public that Academy Electric, contracted by Hunter Roberts Construction Group, is not paying their employees the level of wages and benefits that have been established in this area. New Jersey states a prevailing wage in Mercer County, and we’re informing the public that this employer is paying substandard wages. We have also asked them about health and retirement benefits and we got no answer.” De Angelo continued, “We’re letting Continued on Page 8
MoMentuM Voya e+3 20MPh
$1,700
75¢ at newsstands
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Chmiel Requests Public Hearing with BOE Frank Chmiel, Princeton High School (PHS) principal who on March 17 was removed from his position, has formally requested a hearing with the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE), and he has requested that the hearing be public. Described by a New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) document on nonrenewals and RIFS as “an informal appearance before the board” (known as a “Donaldson hearing”), the session is expected to be scheduled by the BOE for a date in the next three weeks. Chmiel has received from the BOE a statement of reasons for nonrenewal, but he and his lawyers have not stated when and if they will reveal those reasons before the hearing takes place. The hearing, according to the NJSBA document, provides the employee with an opportunity “to convince the board members that they have made an incorrect determination by not offering reemployment.” It continues, “The employee will probably try to refute the board’s reasons and possibly present an assessment of his/her value to the school system.”
The NJSBA document goes on to state that the hearing “is not an adversarial proceeding” and “is not intended to be protracted,” with the BOE charged with determining a reasonable length of time for the proceedings. “The purpose of the hearing is not for the Board to prove its reasons,” the document states. At the hearing, Chmiel may be represented by his lawyer, and he may also present witnesses on his behalf. After the hearing the BOE can overrule
the superintendent’s recommendation for nonrenewal by voting to offer the employee a contract. An override would require a majority vote of the full membership of the BOE. But the Board is not obligated to vote after the hearing, and if the Board does not vote, the superintendent’s recommendation not to renew will stand. Chmiel’s dismissal continues to generate controversy at PHS and around town, though a new interim principal, Kathie Foster, has been on the job since Continued on Page 11
With One-on-Ones at Local Establishments, Leighton Newlin Plans to Keep Listening When Leighton Newlin was elected to Princeton Council in 2021, he promised voters that he would represent them and listen to them — not just during his campaign, but throughout his time in office. The Princeton native has been making an effort to fulfill that promise with “Leighton Listens,” a series of informal one-on-one chats with members of the public at such area locales as Sakrid Coffee Roasters, LiLLiPiES, and Arlee’s Raw Blends. The gatherings have gone so well that Newlin has scheduled another round. On
Wednesdays this month, between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., he plans to visit Earth’s End (May 3), Delizioso Bakery + Kitchen (May 10), Café Maman (May 17), Tipple & Rose (May 24), and Bagel Nook (May 31). The idea is twofold: to hear people’s comments and concerns, and give exposure to local establishments. “It seems to me that if you’re really doing this job right, you don’t stop campaigning,” Newlin said this week. “You listen to people. And you keep it up. Continued on Page 11
PRINCETON PORCHFEST 2023: Rain didn’t deter the festivities on Saturday as 18 locations around town hosted 90 performers, including Dan Kassel, shown here on a porch on Jefferson Road, for the second annual music festival. Attendees discuss their favorite Porchfest performers in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
May is Bike Month It isn’t cheating. It’s replacing your car! 53 E. Broad Street | Hopewell, NJ | 609.333.8553 www.sourlandcycles.com