There has been an outpouring of support in Princeton — from the University, the Institute for Advanced Study, town government and local groups — for refugees and other immigrants affected by President Donald Trump’s recent executive actions.
February 1, 2017
GOING OR STAYING: That’s the question on the minds of students at Westminster Choir College, which could be relocated to Lawrenceville if Rider University, which owns the school, decides to put the Princeton campus up for sale. A 24-hour musical performance marathon by Westminster students, faculty and alumni this week was mounted as a protest by those who want the campus to stay where it is. (Photo by Emily Reeves)
Jody Doktor Velloso’s warm, melodious soprano filled the sanctuary of Nassau Presbyterian Church Tuesday afternoon, thrilling those seated in the pews. It was a sparse crowd. But Ms. Velloso’s recital was only the beginning of a 24-hour marathon held by The Coalition to Save Westminster Choir College. It was in protest of a proposal by Rider University, which owns Westminster, to sell the Princeton campus and relocate the music school to Rider’s Lawrenceville location. more
With chaos at airports, in the courts and elsewhere throughout the country amidst controversy over President Donald Trump’s recent immigration restriction orders, Princeton is making plans to protect vulnerable members of the community.
“Recent executive actions on immigration issues are cruel, counterproductive, and contrary to the values we hold dear in Princeton,” Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert and the Town Council wrote in a statement issued Monday night. more
January 25, 2017
Before a standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 outspoken community members the Municipal Council voted 4-1 on Monday night to approve a resolution urging the State Department of Education to deny Princeton Charter School’s (PCS) recent application to expand.
In responding to a conflict between PCS and Princeton Public Schools (PPS) supporters, who have claimed devastating effects to their budget if the expansion is approved, the Council members discussed the issue at some length and listened to a range of opinions from the public before casting their votes on the resolution. more
January 18, 2017
Despite impassioned appeals on both sides, along with expressed commitments to work together, Princeton Charter School (PCS) and Princeton Public Schools (PPS) remain entrenched in their opposition over the question of a PCS expansion.
Princeton Charter School’s board voted unanimously last Wednesday to support their application to the State Department of Education for expansion, and Princeton Public Schools continued their efforts to block that move. more
January 11, 2017
Institute for Advanced Study
Throughout the fall the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) continued to assert its right to proceed with its faculty housing project adjacent to the Princeton Battlefield. Despite ongoing objections from the Princeton Battlefield Society (PBS) and others, site preparation moved forward and construction seemed imminent. more
January 4, 2017
Mayor Liz Lempert has named nine appointees to Princeton’s new Civil Rights Commission, which is designed to provide informal conflict resolution and mediation. Princeton Council is expected to approve the list at its annual reorganization meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, January 4.
Members come from different sectors of the community, including four affiliated with Princeton University. “I’m excited about the launch of this important commission, and I’m especially thrilled with the diversity of residents who have volunteered to serve, and the expertise they bring to the table,” Ms. Lempert wrote in an email on Tuesday. more
Seven hundred and seventy students from a pool of 5003 candidates who applied through single-choice early action have been offered admission to next year’s freshman class at Princeton University. The number of early applicants is the largest in the past six years, up 18.3 percent from last year. more
MUCH NEEDED ADDITION: The new addition to be built on the grounds of Morven has been designed by GWWO Architects as a support structure that augments the historic mansion rather than stealing the architectural spotlight. Groundbreaking is Thursday. (Watercolor renderings by artist Mark Schreiber)
It has taken more than a decade, but Morven Museum and Garden is finally ready to break ground on a new building that will house an area for programming, a classroom, offices, and much needed storage space. On Thursday morning, January 5 at 10:30 a.m., shovels will officially hit the dirt. more
December 28, 2016
The first issue of Town Topics appeared in March 1946. In the early years, founders Dan Coyle (left) and Don Stuart wrote all the copy and sold all the ads for their timetable-sized publication.
AS IT HAPPENS: This is how the site of Princeton University’s Arts & Transit complex looked last January. Much progress has been made on the buildings designed by architect Steven Holl, and the project is still scheduled to be completed in 2017. (Photo by Emily Reeves)
The rapid pace of teardowns and the often out-of-scale houses that replace them was an issue that dominated discussions in Princeton throughout 2016. The town’s changing character was the theme in the platforms of nearly every candidate who ran for local office in 2016. Midway through the year, moved to take action by the presence of bulldozers all over town, Princeton Council formed a Neighborhood Character and Zoning Initiative. more
December 2, 2016
Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel, one of the most celebrated voices in American music, will perform at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium on Tuesday, December 13 at 4:30 p.m.
Garfunkel, along with his former partner Paul Simon, has received numerous awards and critical acclaim for his music, including 5 Grammy awards, the prestigious Britannia Award, Rolling Stone’s Best Album of the Year notation, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. more
November 23, 2016
ARTS ADVOCATE: Taneshia Nash Laird is the new executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton, replacing Jeff Nathanson who is stepping down after 11 years. Ms. Nash Laird was executive director of the Trenton Downtown Association and co-founded MIST Harlem, a cultural and entertainment center.
The Arts Council of Princeton announced Tuesday that, after a national search, the organization has selected Taneshia Nash Laird as its new executive director. A regionally and nationally recognized leader in arts and economic development, Ms. Nash Laird will serve as the ACP’s third executive director since the organization’s founding in 1967. more
Two separate fires on Sunday caused extensive damage to three shops on Witherspoon and Spring Streets and an office building at 601 Ewing Street. There were no injuries reported, according to Princeton Police Lieutenant Chris Morgan.
Fire departments from Princeton and eight surrounding communities responded to a two-alarm fire at 12:57 p.m. on Sunday at the Village Silver Shop, More Cafe, and Sakura Express in downtown Princeton. Witherspoon Street was closed for about two hours. more
November 9, 2016
Liz Lempert
Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert was elected to a second four-year term in Tuesday’s race over Republican challenger Peter Marks. Ms. Lempert, a Democrat, earned 7529 votes, while Mr. Marks got 2709, according to unofficial results at press time.
In addition, voters elected Democratic Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller and newcomer Tim Quinn, also a Democrat, to two Council seats. Ms. Crumiller and Mr. Quinn, who were unopposed, will serve three-year terms. more
October 27, 2016
William G. Bowen, who died last Thursday at his home in Princeton at the age of 83, not only shaped Princeton University, where he served as an economics professor, provost, then president for 15 years, but also the world of U.S. higher education, which he wrote about and influenced significantly throughout his long, productive career.
Mr. Bowen was Princeton University’s 17th president during an often tumultuous period from 1972 to 1988, overseeing the first admission of women and major expansions in academics. From Princeton he moved to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, where he served as president from 1988 to 2006, leading its support for the humanities, undergraduate and graduate education, the arts, and culture. more
October 12, 2016
Princeton High School was evacuated Tuesday morning after Princeton Police received a call threatening that there was a bomb inside the school. The threat, which came from an unknown male, was called in about 10:15 a.m., and officials immediately emptied out the building and brought in bomb-sniffing K-9 dogs. No device was found. more
October 5, 2016
BUSINESS AS USUAL?: F. Duncan Haldane, teaching his first class as a Nobel Laureate, was greeted with loud cheers and applause from his students at his Tuesday session on “Electromagnetism: Principles and Problem Solving.” Mr. Haldane had received a call at 4:30 that morning from the Royal Swedish Academy, notifying him that he had won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. (Photo courtesy of Princeton University Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite)
Princeton University professor F. Duncan Haldane has been awarded the 2016 Nobel prize in Physics for revealing secrets of exotic states of matter, such as superconductivity, discoveries that could lead to new applications in material science and electronics. more
Police report four cases where parked vehicles were entered and items stolen, two on Parkside Drive, one on Paul Robeson Place, and one on Derwent Drive.
On September 27, at 4:15 p.m., it was reported that sometime between 10 p.m. on September 26 and 1 p.m. on September 27, someone entered a vehicle parked on the 100 block of Parkside Drive and stole items. Two days later at 1:12 p.m., it was reported that between 5:30 p.m. on September 26 and 8 a.m. on September 27, someone entered an unlocked vehicle, parked on the same block of Parkside Drive, and stole items. more
Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber is expected to be the first witness in a property tax case scheduled to go to court in Trenton this week. The University is being sued by Princeton residents who are challenging the tax exempt status of several of its properties.
The issue is being watched closely by educational institutions and non-profits. The lawsuit, which dates back four years, says the University should pay taxes on the buildings it rents out for private functions. The suit also maintains that the school shares profits with professors on some of the patents they receive and the research they conduct. Lawyers for the school have argued that the buildings serve its educational mission and should therefore be exempt. more
September 21, 2016
Owen Bardzilowski, 14-year-old ninth grader at Princeton High School who took his own life at his family’s home on Henry Street last Thursday, has been remembered and mourned by many different people in many different ways during the past week. more
September 7, 2016
The Princeton Family YMCA on Paul Robeson Place is just six weeks away from completing the first step in a three-part “refresh” project designed to brighten up several key facets of their facility, to use their space to the greatest advantage, and to bring the building into the 21st century. more
August 31, 2016
Over the last two weeks, Princeton High athletes have been gearing up for the upcoming fall season, undergoing grueling practice sessions from the Valley Road complex to the turf field on campus.
But as last Monday morning dawned sunny and clear, a pall was cast over the school and fields as the news that John Miranda, the district’s popular Athletic Director and Supervisor of Health and Physical Education, had passed away.
In a statement issued Monday on the Princeton Public Schools website, it was revealed that Mr. Miranda, 57, died “suddenly” on August 28. He had taken a leave of absence this past spring due to health issues.
The stocky, silver-haired athletic director was a constant presence on the sidelines of PHS games, chatting affably with players, coaches, and officials alike as he oversaw the action. more
Since the August 20 death of 24-year-old Colin Simonelli of Princeton, who was found “unresponsive” at 2 p.m. in the shallow part of the main swimming pool at Community Park, the most pressing question has been how this could have happened on a busy Saturday afternoon with 12 lifeguards on duty, two at the main pool. According to the town’s spokesman, municipal administrator Marc Dashield, the matter is currently under investigation by the Princeton Police Department. more