Volume LXXVI, Number 35
Back To School Pages 18-22 Insect Festival Will Celebrate “Bugs Need Homes, Too!” . . . . . . . 5 Rosedale Road Intersection Reopens . . . . . . . . . . . 10 YWCA Princeton Marks 100 Years of Supporting Women, Serving Community . . . . . . . 12 Rebounding from Injury-Plagued Season, Sherman Stars as PU Women’s Soccer Defeats Fairfield . . . . . . . . . . 28 Buoyed by Sophomore Group, PHS Boys’ Soccer Aims to Continue Winning Ways . . . . . . 32
King Henry V, Who Died 600 Years Ago Today, Lives Again in This Week’s Book Review . . . . . . . 17 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 26 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 36 New To Us . . . . . . . . . 27 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 35 Performing Arts . . . . . 23 Police Blotter . . . . . . . 16 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 36 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.towntopics.com
Library Launches Program Promoting Activities For Mayor’s Wellness Campaign A series of events in support of the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign, focused on the mental wellness of families, children, and individuals of all ages, is about to get underway in and around the Princeton Public Library. From book discussions and readings to a hula hoop party and bracelet-making, the schedule encompasses many approaches to maintaining mental health. The project has grown from an original idea for three book discussions to become the library’s major focus for the fall and beyond. “It was a simple concept that ballooned,” said Janie Hermann, the library’s adult programming manager. “We are committed to it until May 2023 and it could go on after that, but we don’t know yet.” The Mayor’s Wellness Campaign is a voluntary program of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. Back in 2018, the campaign rated Princeton a “Healthy Town,” the highest of three rankings. But over the past three years, the municipality has slipped down to “Healthy Town to Watch,” and the idea is to boost it back up to the top. “Mayors can choose to join, and not all towns do,” said Hermann. “It is my understanding that the mayor is trying to get us to the next level.” Mayor Mark Freda will be on hand for the book discussions, the first of which is September 21 when the topic is Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb. “This series builds on the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign initiative our Health Department staff started last year to combat social isolation in Princeton,” Freda said in a press release. “With help from the Arts Council of Princeton and the Princeton Senior Resource Center, we facilitated community connections through art and gardening. I’m pleased that, with help from the library and other local partners this fall, we will continue to engage residents through discussions of books that focus on mental health and shared human experiences. I encourage everyone to read along with us and join in the discussions.” Every session will be led by a library Continued on Page 11
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Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Merchants Express Frustrations Over Construction During the public comment portion of last week’s Princeton Council meeting, Andrew Siegel, president of the Princeton Merchants Association (PMA), voiced the organization’s frustrations with the way the town has managed traffic problems stemming from ongoing construction projects on Witherspoon Street and the Graduate Hotel. With six of the central business district’s seven streets now directing motorists north and only one going south, he said, the system is not working and area businesses are suffering as a result. At that same meeting, a campaign was announced for new signage directing drivers looking for parking to area garages
and the Princeton University lots that are free during evening hours. This week, it was announced that posters, banners, and sandwich board signs are being installed along Witherspoon Street in the first phase of the “Making Witherspoon” initiative, a collaboration of the municipality and Princeton University. The idea is “to inform residents and visitors about the construction project currently underway along Witherspoon Street between Nassau Street and Green Street, including the amenities that will be created as a result of the construction, and to provide awareness of the project schedule,” according to a press release.
While the merchants welcome those efforts, they say more needs to be done. Specifically, they want a new traffic study, since the most recent one did not include Palmer Square streets, it assumed a two-way Chambers Street, and was considered using pre-pandemic traffic data that does not represent current patterns. They have also suggested such ideas as changing the schedule of work on Witherspoon Street, making Tulane Street one way going toward Nassau Street, and providing some free parking as an incentive. “We need to be doing everything we possibly can to make it as easy as possible to get people into, out of, and through Continued on Page 11
It’s Back to School Next Week, with COVID Restrictions Eased
MOVE-IN DAY: Students in the Princeton University Class of 2026 arrived on campus last Friday. Fall term classes begin on September 6. Newcomers share where they are from and what they look forward to studying in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
Summer construction, maintenance, and cleanup projects are essentially finished; teachers will be winding up classroom preparations, professional days, and lesson planning this week; and new students and faculty are completing their requisite orientation sessions. It’s back to school time, with classes beginning at Princeton University and Princeton Public Schools (PPS) on Tuesday, September 6 and at most local private schools a day or two later. At Johnson Park Elementary School (JP) last Thursday, 55 new kindergarteners and their parents participated in a safari-themed orientation program. The JP PTO provided decorations and refreshments. “It was a delight to see our youngest learners arrive with excitement for what is to come,” wrote JP Principal Angela Siso Stentz in an August 29 email. “Our kindergarten parents had an opportunity to mingle a little while the students participated in activities with the kindergarten team of four teachers. We can’t wait until the first day of school.” She continued, “We are really looking forward to the new school year, with reduced COVID restrictions and returning to some normal procedures. Johnson Park Elementary School will welcome close to 100 new families across all grade levels. Over the next three service days teachers and staff members will plan, coordinate, engage, and prepare for our students’ September 6 arrival.” PPS Interim Assistant Superintendent Continued on Page 8
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