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Healthcare is no longer just a medical issue—it is a business one.
The Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce will host its 2026 Regional Healthcare Symposium on Tuesday, April 21, bringing together healthcare leaders, policymakers, and business professionals to discuss the issues shaping the industry across Mercer County and the region.
The event will run from 8 to 11 a.m. at at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal in Plainsboro. Advance registration is required. Tickets and additional information are available through the Chamber’s websiat www.
The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie is accepting submissions for Ellarslie Open 43, its annual juried exhibition in Cadwalader Park, with a firm entry deadline of May 6.
The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie is accepting submissions for Ellarslie Open 43, its annual juried exhibition in Cadwalader Park, with entries open from April 1 through May 6 via an online submission process.
The exhibition invites artists working in a
princetonmercerchamber.org.
The symposium will highlight the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) expansion in Mercer County as a key example of how healthcare investment is shaping both access to care and economic development.
CHOP’s planned redevelopment of the former AMC theater site in Hamilton Township is expected to bring new services, jobs, and long-term growth to the region, positioning the project as a central focus of the discussion.
Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin who will deliver opening remarks. Keynote speakers will be David Kontra, assistant vice president of real estate for CHOP, and Donald E. Moore, senior vice president of real estate, facilities and operations.
Expected topics include workforce challenges, the evolving research environment, access to care, and the growing role of technology and artificial intelligence in healthcare.
The symposium also comes at a time of significant change in the region’s healthcare landscape, highlighted by major investments and new development projects that are expected to reshape access to care and drive economic activity.
The symposium also comes at a time of significant change in the region’s healthcare landscape
CHOP’s acquisition of the former AMC theater property was announced in July 2025. The 42-acre site is being prepared for redevelopment into a pediatric healthcare facility, with the township and county working alongside CHOP as plans move forward.
Wed, April 29, 2026 | 7:30PM Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall
The program will also include a panel featuring regional healthcare leaders Lisa Breza, chief administrative officer at RWJUH Hamilton; James Demetriades, CEO of Penn Medicine Princeton Health; and Al Maghazehe, president and CEO of Capital Health.
The discussion will be moderated by Chrissy Buteas, president and CEO of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey.
The program will focus on key issues at the intersection of healthcare, business strategy, and community impact.
wide range of media, including painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography and digital art. Artists may submit up to four works for consideration, with all entries submitted digitally through the EntryThingy platform.
Entries are reviewed through a multi -stage jurying process, with an initial online review followed by an in-person round for selected works. Final selections are made for inclusion in the exhibition, and all accepted pieces are installed in both the museum and its online gallery.
This year’s juror is Adam Welch, executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton, who will oversee the selection process and awards. Cash prizes are presented for Best in Show, category awards and additional sponsored recognitions.
Hamilton officials have described the project as a major step toward expanding healthcare access while also strengthening the local economy. The redevelopment process is ongoing, with proposals under review and long-term construction planning expected to follow.
The site’s future use also reflects key land-use decisions made by the township. Following the theater’s closure, officials said multiple proposals were submitted to develop warehouse space on the property, but those plans were rejected in favor of a project with broader community impact.
poetry, digital art and animation. Submissions are reviewed by staff in collaboration with teaching artists to ensure that the final exhibition reflects the breadth of work produced through the center’s educational programs.
The exhibition will be presented in both the gallery and lobby spaces, offering artists the opportunity to display work in a professional setting and engage directly with visitors. Participants are encouraged to attend the opening reception and discuss their work as part of the public program.
First presented in 1983, the Ellarslie Open has developed into one of the region’s most established juried exhibitions, drawing entries from across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and beyond. In 2025, more than 520 works were submitted, with approximately 110 selected for exhibition.
The exhibition will open with an artists’ and members’ reception on June 6, followed by a public opening weekend, and will remain on view through early September. Additional programming, including gallery talks and artist events, is scheduled during the run of the show.
Accepted works must be available for the duration of the exhibition and are required to be for sale, with the museum handling transactions and artist payments under its standard commission structure.
For artists, the exhibition offers the opportunity to present work in a professional museum setting while reaching a broad audience during peak summer visitation, making it one of the more competitive and visible open calls in the Mercer County arts scene.
Deadline May 6. Submit at ellarslie.org
The West Windsor Arts Council is accepting submissions for its 2026 Faculty & Student Art Show, with an entry deadline of April 28 and exhibition dates set for May 19 through June 27.
The exhibition invites teaching artists and students of all ages to submit original work created through West Windsor Arts classes, camps and workshops during the past year. Students may submit up to three works, while teaching artists may submit up to two, and the organization notes that each participant will have at least one piece included in the show.
Eligible work spans a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture,
Students in the Certificate of Fine Arts program will receive additional recognition during the exhibition, with milestone achievements acknowledged and one work selected for inclusion in the organization’s permanent collection. There is no fee to submit, and artists must provide standard entry information along with a digital image of their work as part of the application process.
Deadline April 28. Submit at westwindsorarts.org.
The Bucks County Playhouse is accepting submissions for its PlayLab program, which supports the development of new theatrical works through a structured process of readings and workshops.
Playwrights selected for the program collaborate with professional directors and actors to refine scripts through rehearsal and feedback sessions. The process includes staged readings that allow writers to hear their work performed and make revisions based on audience and creative team response.
The program is open to both emerging and established writers and serves as a regional pipeline for new work. Projects developed through PlayLab may be considered for future full productions, offering participants a pathway beyond the initial submission stage. Submission window currently open. Details at bcptheater.org/
The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has extended registration for its 2026 Species on the Edge 2.0 Conservation Challenge, a statewide competition for high school students.
Student teams are asked to create a multimedia video presentation focused on a threatened or endangered species in New
David Kontra assistant vice president of Real Estate for Children’s Hopital of Pennsylvania and Donald Moore senior vice president of real estate/facilities/operations with be the keynote speakers at the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce will host its 2026 Regional Healthcare Symposium on Tuesday, April 21
“Since AMC closed, I don’t know how many developers we’ve said no to who wanted to build a warehouse there,” Martin said in a September 2025 interview with U.S. 1. “Because of the zoning on the site, we were able to push back on that.”
Martin emphasized both the healthcare and economic importance of the CHOP project.
“As a parent to a young child, I know the concern of every parent for their child’s health,” he said when the acquisition was announced. “And having CHOP here in our backyard ensures the children of Hamilton will always have easy access to the best possible medical care.”
He also pointed to the long-term economic benefits.
“We are certainly excited to be their Central Jersey headquarters,” Martin said. “Not only bringing jobs here locally, but (also) ensuring our children who need the very best medical care can stay right here in Hamilton to get it.”
While CHOP has not publicly released detailed plans, township officials have said early discussions included a first-phase facility of approximately 120,000 square feet, signaling a substantial investment and longterm presence in the region.
The partnership has already begun to take shape in practical ways. In February 2026, CHOP granted Hamilton Township police and fire divisions access to the former theater site for emergency response training ahead of demolition.
The facility’s size and layout allowed first
Jersey. Projects must combine scientific research, storytelling and proposed conservation solutions, with an emphasis on real-world environmental impact.
Teams work collaboratively with guidance from an adult facilitator, but the projects are designed to be student-led. Submissions are evaluated on creativity, scientific understanding and the effectiveness of the conservation message.
Cash prizes include $2,000 for first place, along with additional awards for runners-up and participating facilitators.
Register by April 22. Submit videos by May 15. Details at conservewildlifenj.org/ education/edge2-0
Actors’ NET of Bucks County is accepting registrations for its 2026 Summer Stars theater camp, a four-week program running Aug. 3 through Aug. 27.
The program is open to students ages 7 to 17 and focuses on acting, singing and dance, while also introducing participants to technical and behind-the-scenes aspects of theater production. The program concludes with a performance for family and friends.
The program is designed for students of all experience levels, offering structured instruction alongside a collaborative rehearsal process.
Registration is currently open. Details at actorsnetbucks.org
responders to conduct complex simulations, including search-and-rescue operations and coordinated emergency drills that are difficult to replicate in traditional training environments.
“Public safety is our top priority, and providing our police officers and firefighters with realistic training environments is essential to their readiness,” Martin said.
“Not only are they bringing world-class pediatric healthcare to our backyard, but by opening this site for our first responders before demolitions, they are actively helping us to keep our community safer,” Martin added.
CHOP officials said the collaboration reflects a broader commitment to the community.
“We are honored to become members of the community and are committed to supporting both the continued growth of the area and the safety and well-being of those who live and work here,” said Donald E. Moore, senior vice president of real estate, facilities and operations.
The symposium will also provide insight into the planning and development behind projects like the Hamilton facility.
David Kontra, assistant vice president of real estate at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is expected to offer perspective on how healthcare systems approach growth and expansion.
In his role, Kontra oversees strategy and
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Villagers Theatre is accepting registrations for its Summer Theatre Arts program, with sessions running from late June through early August.
The program is open to students ages 7 to 15 and includes training in acting, voice and dance, with each session culminating in a staged performance. This year’s productions include Moana Jr. and High School Musical 2 Jr
The structured format provides participants with both performance experience and instruction across multiple aspects of theater production. Registration closes June 1. Apply at villagerstheatre.org.
U.S. 1 has distribution to news boxes located in downtown Princeton and Trenton, at train stations, and in other high-traffic outdoor areas.
Additionally, it is now possible to browse full PDFs of recent issues on U.S. 1’s website, www.princetoninfo. com. Click on “Read This Week’s Digital U.S. 1 E-Edition Here.”
A full digital edition of U.S. 1 is also distributed by e-mail every Wednesday. Subscribe at www.communitynews. org/newsletter.
DAY-BY-DAY EVENTS, APRIL 15 TO APRIL 22
Event listings: E-mail events@princetoninfo.com
While many venues have returned to hosting in-person events, others are still taking place online. Event descriptions specify if an event is being held virtually or in a hybrid format. To include your virtual or in-person event in this section email events@princetoninfo.com.
Pithy Punny Head Caption.
D&R Greenway celebrates Earth Day at a special Environmental Heroes outdoor concert with local singer-songwriter Jonathan Sprout on Saturday, April 18, from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Discovery Center at Point Breeze.
Sprout is a Grammy-nominated songwriter and performer from Pennsylvania with a dozen albums. He has played at many community events where he looks to inspire a love of nature and conservation.
Sprout’s original songs about environmental heroes feature the likes of Johnny Appleseed, Rachel Carson and John Muir. Since his first professional appearance in 1972, Sprout has recorded 12 albums, performed 6,618 concerts (including 5,588 children’s concerts) and taught 821 songwriting workshops throughout the United States.
His songs have appeared on several internationally released compilation albums. Jonathan’s four American Heroes albums have won 26 national awards and critical acclaim as groundbreaking CDs in the field of educational children’s music.
Guests may bring lawn chairs and blankets to the outdoor event. In the event of rain, the concert will take place indoors at the Discovery Center. Guests are welcome to tour the Discovery Center after the concert
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Sprout gives an Earth Day concert at the Discovery Center on Saturday, April 18.
to explore new additions to the Collection. Discovery Center at Point Breeze is located at 101 East Park Street, Bordentown. The event is free, but donations are accepted. Reserve a seat at www.drgreenway.org.
Continued
HoVal Arts Council reopening historic Hopewell Theater with a new name
After several years in the dark, the lights are coming back on in the heart of Hopewell. The Hopewell Valley Arts Council is proud to announce the opening of Hopewell Valley Stage, formerly the “Hopewell Theater,” at 5 S. Greenwood Ave in Hopewell NJ. This beloved historic venue will once again serve as a vibrant home for the arts.
Thanks to a foundational grant from the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation, Hopewell Valley Stage will open for concerts, theater productions, film screenings, art workshops, and community talks. It will also house the administrative offices of the Hopewell Valley Arts Council, deepening the Council’s connection to the creative life of the community and anchoring its future programming.
“We’re honored to breathe new life into this iconic space,” said Carol Lipson, Executive Director of the Hopewell Valley Arts Council. “Theater, music, art, and a place to gather aren’t luxuries—they’re vital to a thriving, connected community. This reopening restores a space for people from across Hopewell Valley to come together to be
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moved and inspired.” Beyond its cultural mission, Hopewell Valley Stage is expected to deliver a welcome boost to the local economy. “Live events bring people to our towns,” added Lipson.
“Every concert, film, or workshop draws new energy to our restaurants and small businesses—helping the entire community flourish.”
Hopewell Valley Stage will also be available for rent by nonprofit organizations and commercial organizations, ensuring it remains an active and accessible space for all.
While the generous support of the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation has made this reopening possible, the venue’s success will depend on the ongoing support of the community—through donations and attendance at ticketed events. “We’re excited to gather support and feedback from our neighbors during our soft launch,” said Maeli Goren-Wilson, newly appointed Theater Manager of Hopewell Valley Stage.
“We’ll test out what types of events and offerings speak most to our community and refine our vision for success. We can’t wait to welcome artists and audiences to the Stage!”
Join us for an open house on Saturday April 18th from 3pm to 6pm for live music and tours of the venue. The box office will be open to purchase tickets for upcoming events. Follow our progress on Instagram and Facebook @ hvartscouncil and on our website at hvartscouncil.org.
All concerts at Morven Museum & Garden
5 x 15.65
Larken Associates
FOR 56 YEARS, WHOLE EARTH CENTER HAS BEEN A GATHERING PLACE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS, ORGANIC FARMERS, AND LOVERS OF REAL FOOD.
MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE SHOPPED AT OUR
Malkovich
McCarter Theatre Center presents a weekend of comedy and theatrical invention with John Malkovich in The Music Critic on Saturday, April 17 in the Matthews Theatre, and The Improvised Shakespeare Company for three performances April 16–17 in the Berlind Theatre.
In The Music Critic, John Malkovich stars in a sardonic and musically rich exploration of classical music criticism. Schumann is called a “composer,” Brahms a “giftless bastard,” and Debussy is deemed “simply ugly,” as composer Aleksey Igudesman assembles infamous critiques written about some of classical music’s most celebrated works. Malkovich inhabits the role of an unrelenting critic, while musicians Aleksey Igudesman, Hyung-ki Joo, and others respond with performances of works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schumann, Debussy, Prokofiev, Ysaye, Kancheli, Piazzolla, and Igudesman. The evening culminates in “The Malkovich Torment,” a humorous musical “review” of Malkovich himself, set by Igudesman.
McCarter Theatre’s weekend continues with The Improvised Shakespeare Company®, a critically acclaimed improv troupe known for its spontaneous, fastpaced comedy.
Malkovich, Malkovich: John Malkovich is at the center of an ironic mash-up of classical music and poorly aged music criticism in “The Music Critic,” at McCarter Theater Thursday, April 16.
Performances are Friday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 17 at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Based entirely on a single audience suggestion, The Improvised Shakespeare Company creates a fully improvised Shakespearean play in real time—complete with characters, dialogue, and plot devised on the spot. Nothing is scripted or rehearsed, and even the performers discover the story as it unfolds.
Founded in Chicago in 2005, The Improvised Shakespeare Company has appeared at major
venues and festivals including the Kennedy Center, 92nd Street Y, Bonnaroo, San Francisco Sketchfest, Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, and the Just For Laughs festivals in Montreal and Chicago. Its flagship production, Improvised Shakespeare Chicago℠, continues its long-running success. Tickets can be purchased online at mccarter.org, by calling Patron Services at (609) 258-2787, or in person at the McCarter Theatre Center Box Office, 91 University Place.
WE INVITE EVERYONE TO JOIN US IN BUILDING A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE ORGANIC GARDEN STATE!
How abstract was de Kooning, anyway? For very good reasons, he is considered a great groundbreaker and a tilter against convention. Pieces he painted 75 years ago still feel radical. Yet compared to his fellow New York abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline, his work often feels downright comprehensible. Pollock, famously, complained that de Kooning had betrayed the movement away from representational art by reintroducing the figure.
Pollock may have had a point. “Willem de Kooning: The Breakthrough Years, 1945-50,” a revelatory show now up at The Princeton University Art Museum, presents the artist as a master of suggestion whose vision transcends any particular style. These 18 paintings brilliantly balance shape, color and gesture, and highlight de Kooning’s revolutionary approaches to the line and the mark.
The museum hosts tours of the exhibition on Thursdays, April 16 and 30, and Sundays, April 19 and 26. Though it is possible to appreciate the show on that technical level alone, it is unlikely that you will. That’s because objects, and plenty of them, haunt these canvases. Stare at these madly energetic paintings and figures will emerge: faces, edifices, bodies, crowds, articles of clothing, automobiles, street signs — the panoply of urban life in the middle of the 20th century, in a place as dynamic, upsetting and invigorating as Manhattan.
The clearest example of this is “Gansevoort Street,” a play of dark streaks and great smears on a brickred background. It’s an abstract painting, but it’s also a cityscape. It may also be a social statement. At the time of its composition, Gansevoort in northern Greenwich Village was at the heart of New York’s meatpacking industry. De Kooning’s highly impressionistic painting is an emotional snapshot of the area as it might have struck him at the time, full of high and inaccessible windows, alleys, pitched roofs and entranceways, with a bloody undergirding to the whole scene. Animal shapes stand in three corners of the canvas. Curved black lines meet at sharp angles suggestive of chopping blades. The point of one of these axes seems poised to fall on a bovine figure that stands as upright as a man.
This is not to suggest that de Kooning had a political motivation for picking up a paintbrush. It’s just an observation that he was oriented to the world around him in a way that many of his peers in abstraction weren’t. His planet is our planet: he’s just got an extremely allusive, wonderfully sideways manner of showing it to us. When looking at a de Kooning, there is never the sense that we are in an uncharted netherworld, or adrift in a vast plane of ideas, or caught somewhere inside the artist’s head. His vision may be outrageous and unruly, but it is human-scale.
by Tris McCall
In “Dark Pond,” de Kooning treats us to an arresting display of black shapes outlined, thinly, in white. The painting comes on like an uproar: thick, sinuous fields of black paint, energetic chalkboard scribbles, and geometric shapes suspended mid-image. So much energy radiates from the piece that it can be hard to orient yourself before it.
But once you do, it becomes awfully recognizable. The diamonds and pentagons look like doorways and windows lit up at night. The mushroom shapes in the foreground begin to resemble trees; the angled shapes in the background suggest the pitched roofs of shacks. A large blank field at the bottom of the canvas takes on the fathomless quality of a lake in the woods.
Seen from one perspective, this complicated painting turns out to be the dark pond that de Kooning tells us it is — no more and no less.
Are other interpretations possible? Naturally. This was (and still is) experimental painting. De Kooning doesn’t aggressively foreclose any particular way of looking at things, and he doesn’t impress meaning on us with a heavy hand.
But there are many clues in his art that lead us to believe that whatever it is we are looking at, it fits our perceptual capacities.
When he takes us outdoors, as he does in “Dark Pond,” what he shows us is roughly the size of our field of vision. When he coaxes us inside, the objects we encounter are rather humble. Human figures, no matter how spectral, are about the same size that we are.
“Mailbox,” for instance, is a cascade of curved lines — some thick, some warped, and some partially erased, both underpinned and overlaid by drips and smudges of pink and yellow paint. It seems at first blush like de Kooning at his most inscrutable. Yet there is something welcoming about it, too, and after a few seconds of exposure, it becomes apparent why it invites close inspection.
This is a painting that smiles back at us. The artist has embedded numerous grins into the image, including toothy ones, open-mouthed ones, and Cheshire ones that hover in the midst of blank fields of color.
Once these smiles have been located, the arcs of black paint in their vicinity take on the property of chins. They’re right there on the same plane as the viewer’s own face.
Should we need more indications about the intended mood and scope of this hallucination, there are other figures tucked into this amalgamation of strokes and swirls, too, and they’re all rather ordinary: a table, a door, a wagging tongue, an overturned banana, the outline of a passerby and, dangling over the edge of an inner frame, a representation of a pencil making a mark.
To a person, the many human figures in “Willem de Kooning:
The Breakthrough Years, 1945-50” share that approachability. One is a leering clown mask with a sausagelike nose and a car’s wheel for an ear. Another, a plump gingerbread cookie cut-out in black, out walking through paint splatter toward a gateway at the bottom of a frame. They’re strange, but they contain no hint of menace. They possess that awkward friendliness that animates all of de Kooning’s mature canvases.
It’s a weird place we’re in, but it’s a habitable one. We can step right in without fretting about it too much.
Even “Black Friday,” the chilliest painting in the show, never feels overwhelming. Instead, de Kooning orients the viewer instantly by placing a trio of buildings in the distance and an amalgam of drooping shapes that roughly resemble a body in the foreground. Generous as he is, he always makes sure we
know that we’re on the ground. Unlike other abstract artists, he rarely leaves us floating in space. He is even willing to spell it out for us from time to time. “Zot,” one of the wildest paintings in this show, is dominated by de Kooning’s message: “ART,” written in buckled black letters in paint on the lower left quadrant of the canvas. Cheeky metacommentary is not usually associated with abstract expressionism, but there it is, on a lively canvas painted by the movement’s leading light. It is a reminder of the sense of humor and play that animates — and elevates — much of de Kooning’s work. If he promises us a “Town Square” (see at top of this post), he may blow its shapes toward the corners of the frame and create a whirlpool of white paint strokes at the center of the canvas that seems to tug everything at the periphery into the center, and glee-
fully reinvent sightlines according to a personal logic. But he will also still, somehow, evoke the essence of the familiar thing he is telling us it is.
Perhaps that is why de Kooning plays as well for us now as it did at mid-century. Then, as now, events were accelerating. The known world was about to be turned upside down. Ours may, too. We know that our environment is changing in ways that we can scarcely understand. Exhale, find your footing, and realize that dark pond in the woods is still there. So is the town square. So, maybe, is your smile.
The Princeton University Art Museum will present “Willem de Kooning: The Breakthrough Years, 1945-50″ through July 26. Visit artmuseum.princeton.edu.
This story was originally published by NJArts through the NJ News Commons.
T
he Trenton Thunder are being sold to a national ownership group. Managing partners and shareholders of the team announced on April 7 that they have agreed to sell the club to Diamond Baseball Holdings.
The Thunder will continue to compete in the MLB Draft League, a six-team circuit featuring a split-season amateur-professional format, and will remain guided by their existing front office staff, led by President Jeff Hurley and General Manager Jon Bodnar.
DBH, founded in 2021 by the entertainment company Endeavor Group Holdings and now owned by private equity firm Silver Lake, is one of the largest owners of Minor League Baseball teams, with more than 40 affiliated clubs across the United States and Canada.
Founded in 1994, the Thunder has been a part of Mercer County’s sports and entertainment landscape for more than three decades. The
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execution of real estate initiatives across the organization, including property development, acquisitions, leasing, and portfolio optimization.
His work focuses on aligning real estate decisions with CHOP’s clinical, research, and operational priorities, working closely with senior leadership and external partners to ensure that facilities support patient care goals while enabling long-term growth.
Kontra brings experience in real estate strategy, facilities management, and portfolio optimization developed over a career that has included roles in both corporate and healthcare settings. His expertise reflects the increasingly com-
club previously served as a Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, capturing four Eastern League championships during that span.
Since the team joined the Draft League in 2021, it won the league’s inaugural championship and has led the league in attendance every season since its inception.
The will continue to play at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.
“We are incredibly proud of what the Thunder organization has meant to this community over the past three decades,” said Joe Plumeri, managing partner of the Thunder. “From championships on the field to unforgettable nights at Samuel J. Plumeri Sr. Field, this club has always been about bringing people together,” Plumeri said.
“The Thunder have a tremendous history and a fiercely devoted fan base,” Hurley said. “Joining DBH brings additional resources and opportunities while allowing us to continue delivering the fun, creative and community-driven experience our fans have come to expect at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.”
“The Thunder are a historic franchise in a terrific market with
plex role that real estate plays in healthcare delivery, particularly as systems expand into new markets.
He also has extensive experience in aligning operational needs with long-term planning, an approach that is critical as organizations like CHOP balance rapid growth with the need to maintain efficiency and quality of care.
Moore, who will also play a key role in the discussion, oversees a broad portfolio that includes real estate, facilities development, master planning, and facilities operations at CHOP. He is responsible for ensuring that the organization’s built environment aligns with its strategic priorities and supports its expanding clinical and research footprint.
He is currently leading CHOP’s largest-ever capital expansion program, valued at more than $4 bil-
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an incredibly loyal fan base — adding them to the DBH family was simply too good an opportunity to pass up,” said Pat Battle, executive chairman of DBH, and Peter Freund, CEO.
“They have tremendous support from the state and county and are a perfect fit for our roster,” they said.
The transaction is subject to approval by the MLB Draft League and other customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
Hamilton Township officials recently welcomed a new dessert business.
Cookie Head has opened its first New Jersey location on Sloan Avenue, marking the brand’s expansion into the state and introducing a new dessert concept to the local retail landscape.
Mayor Jeff Martin, who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony, emphasizes the township’s ongoing efforts to attract small
lion, reflecting the scale of investment required to support growth in modern healthcare systems.
With more than four decades of experience in real estate and facilities development, Moore has worked on projects spanning healthcare, research, education, and commercial sectors, bringing a comprehensive perspective to large-scale planning and execution.
His work highlights the increasing importance of infrastructure in healthcare delivery, as organizations invest not only in medical services but also in the physical environments needed to support innovation, collaboration, and patient care.
The expansion of pediatric healthcare capacity also comes as new research highlights growing challenges in children’s health nationwide.
A study led by CHOP found that children’s health in the United States is declining across multiple measures, including chronic illness, mental health conditions, and mortality rates.
businesses and expand its mix of dining and retail options.
The shop represents a rebranding of Blueprint Cookies, a Floridabased, chef-driven concept that has evolved into Cookie Head with a broader menu, updated branding and a more modern customer experience.
Known for its handcrafted, small-batch cookies, the business features a lineup of “core cookies,” including chocolate chip, cookies and cream, sugar and chocolate peanut butter, alongside rotating monthly specialty flavors.
Beyond its signature cookies, the Hamilton location offers a wider range of desserts, including brookies, brownies, soft-serve ice cream and milkshakes, along with customizable combinations that allow customers to mix and match items.
According to the company, Cookie Head is designed as a “dessert destination” focused on variety and discovery, where customers are encouraged to explore a menu that blends familiar staples with new and rotating offerings.
The concept emphasizes an experience-driven approach, with menu items intended to be com-
bines expert discussion with networking opportunities, reflects a growing emphasis on collaboration and information-sharing. Bringing together professionals from healthcare, business, and government creates space for dialogue that can lead to partnerships and new approaches to shared challenges.
For business leaders, healthcare trends increasingly influence workforce planning, benefits, and long-term strategy. For healthcare providers, collaboration with the business community is essential to addressing issues such as access, cost, and infrastructure development.
The Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce has positioned the symposium as a forum for those conversations, offering attendees both strategic insight and the opportunity to connect with peers across industries.
Wednesday, April 15
By Bill Sanservino
bined in different ways, from standalone cookies to more elaborate creations such as blended desserts and specialty drinks.
Company materials describe the brand’s philosophy as centered on creating excitement around dessert, with frequent menu changes and bold flavor combinations aimed at encouraging repeat visits.
The Hamilton shop is among the first locations to operate under the Cookie Head name, positioning it as part of the brand’s next phase of growth as it expands beyond its original markets.
Local officials said the addition reflects broader economic development trends in Hamilton, where new food and beverage businesses continue to draw both residents and visitors to commercial corridors.
“This is exactly the kind of business that makes our town special, and we look forward to seeing residents and surrounding towns enjoy everything they have to offer at this unique location,” Martin said.
Cookie Head Cookies, 199-1 Sloan Ave., Hamilton. Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-11 p.m. www.cookiehead.com.
Machine learning Subfield: Active learning, The College of New Jersey, STEM Building, Room 102, Metzger Drive, Ewing, 908-285-1066. princetonacm. acm.org. Princeton ACM / IEEE Computer Society hosts a hybrid meeting featuring Michael Bloodgood discussing active learning in machine learning. Open to the public. Free. 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Friday, April 17
Networking, BNI Driven, Elks Lodge #2622, 1580 Kuser Road, Hamilton, 609-585-9610. www. bninjpa.org. Weekly networking meeting featuring member speakers and referral exchange. 7 a.m.
Networking, X-Factor BNI, VFW 133, 485 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick, 908-421-6151. www. bninjpa.org. Networking meeting with business presentations and referral opportunities. 7 to 8:30 a.m.
JobSeekers, Professional Service Group of Mercer County, Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, Princeton. www.psgofmercercounty.org. Weekly job search support group featuring speaker and networking. 9:45 a.m. to noon
Researchers said the trends are not limited to a single issue, but instead reflect a broad set of systemic challenges affecting children across different populations and regions.
The findings suggest that improving outcomes will require coordinated efforts across healthcare providers, communities, and policymakers.
The study also emphasizes the importance of access to care and early intervention, factors that are central to projects like the Hamilton facility.
Expanding local access to specialized pediatric services can play a key role in addressing gaps in care and improving long-term health outcomes.
Beyond immediate health impacts, the findings have broader implications for the business community. Children’s health is closely tied to long-term workforce development and economic stability, with healthier populations contributing to stronger communities and more resilient economies.
For attendees, the April 21 symposium offers an opportunity to better understand how these trends are shaping both the healthcare industry and the broader business environment.
The event’s format, which com-
Networking, BNI Falcons, IHOP, 610 Route 33, East Windsor, 877264-0500. www.bninjpa.org. Hybrid meeting with structured networking and member presentations. 7 to 8:30 a.m.
Thursday, April 16
Networking, BNI Tigers Chapter, Conference Center at Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, 609-570-3237. www. bninjpa.org. In-person meeting with structured referrals and member presentations. 7 to 8:30 a.m.
Networking, BNI Top Flight Town Diner, 431 Route 130, East Windsor, 609-443-8222. www. bninjpa.org. Weekly business networking meeting focused on referrals and relationship-building. 7 a.m.
Data & Drinks, Biotechs: Insights and lessons learned Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs, 303A College Road East, Princeton, 609-228-4872. princetonbiolabs.com. Collaborative Drug Discovery hosts a networking and panel discussion featuring Andy Cole of Arbutus Biopharma, Romyr Dominique of TB Alliance, Melissa Dumble of Eikon Therapeutics, and Sandip Patel of BIOVERIC Pharmaceuticals on challenges, funding, and innovation in biotech. Register. 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 21
regional Healthcare Symposium, Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, Princeton Marriott at Forrestal, Plainsboro. 609-924-1776. www.princetonmercerchamber.org. Business and healthcare leaders discuss industry trends, policy, and innovation in the regional healthcare sector. Advance registration is required. Tickets and additional information are available through the Chamber’s website. 8 to 11 a.m.
Wednesday, April 22
lab to launch: life Sciences Panel, Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs, 303A College Road East, Princeton. www.princetonmercerchamber.org. Panel discussion on commercialization, funding, and growth strategies for life sciences startups. Register. 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 23
Business After Business Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, Princeton, 609-924-1776. www.princetonmercerchamber.org. Evening networking event with refreshments and informal conversation among regional professionals. Register. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The Pennington Avenue reservoir sits in the middle of Trenton. It supplies water to 151,900 people in Ewing, Hamilton, Hopewell, and Lawrence. And it has been federally illegal for more than a decade.
If you pay a water bill to Trenton Water Works and you don’t live in the lower-elevation parts of Trenton, your drinking water passes through the Pennington Avenue Reservoir before it reaches your tap. Not near it. Through it.
The reservoir is a seven-acre, open-air body of finished drinking water adjacent to the Central Pumping Station on Pennington Avenue. According to the October 2022 Unilateral Administrative Order issued by NJDEP, it supplies water to 70% of TWW’s customer base — approximately 151,900 residential consumers in the high service area, including every customer outside the city. The other 30% receive water through a direct gravity feed within Trenton, bypassing the reservoir entirely.
That math matters. What grows in the reservoir, what breeds in it, what contaminates it — ends up in your water. And what has been happening in it is not reassuring.
Under the EPA’s Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, all finished water reservoirs must be covered or decommissioned. TWW’s compliance deadline passed in 2012. NJDEP first ordered the reservoir covered in 2009. A second order extended the deadline. A third set July 31, 2023 as a firm final date. That deadline passed with nothing built. The current plan projects compliance no earlier than 2032 — twenty years after the federal deadline.
In October 2022, NJDEP issued a Unilateral Administrative Order — a tool that doesn’t require the utility’s agreement — placing TWW under direct state oversight. Items 44 through 67 address the reservoir. They describe a series of compounding failures.
NJDEP inspectors visited the reservoir in August 2022 and documented the conditions firsthand. They found waterfowl swimming in the finished water, bird droppings and animal fecal matter on the walls and fence line, and an unidentified dead animal floating near the inlet pipe. Bird and animal feces are a documented source of vibrio cholera, Salmonella, Typhoid, Legionella, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium. The reservoir had an unnatural blue-green color consistent with a cyanobacteria bloom. Security cameras were inoperable. Structural cracks were visible in the concrete walls.
Also that summer: residents in Ewing began reporting midge insects coming from their taps. TWW sampling confirmed their widespread presence throughout the distribution system. NJDEP determined the midges were breeding in the reservoir, feeding on algae — and that chlorination, TWW’s primary disinfection tool, is ineffective against midge larvae.
The algae had a cause. A broken check valve was allowing zinc orthophosphate — ZOP, a corrosion control chemical — to backflow from the distribution system into the reservoir. Phosphorus in ZOP is a primary nutrient for algae and cyanobacteria. The backflow fed the bloom. The bloom fed the midges. And the cyanobacteria produced cyanotoxins — poisons linked to abdominal pain, vomiting, liver and kidney damage, and nervous
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By Marc leckington
system effects, with the most serious risks falling on children.
If that sequence sounds familiar, it should. The Flint water crisis was driven, in part, by the failure to maintain adequate corrosion control — the same category of protection that ZOP provides. When TWW shut off ZOP dosing, it created a secondary risk: without ZOP, lead service lines in the gravity zone lose their protective coating and become corrosive. The Flint parallel is not rhetorical. The same chemical protection that failed in Flint is the one TWW was now unable to deliver to part of its own system.
The UAO’s conclusion: TWW “has missed key milestones to remedy the threat of contamination of the open finished water reservoir” in a way that “may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to the health of its consumers.”
On March 4, 2026, NJDEP ordered TWW to submit a comprehensive Finished Water Reservoir Management Plan within 120 days and — immediately — to begin intensive water quality monitoring. The new requirements include daily testing of pH, turbidity, and chlorine residual at the reservoir; continuous flow and chlorine monitoring at the Central Pumping Station; weekly testing for coliform bacteria, phytoplankton, and copper; and monthly testing for disinfection byproducts, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and total organic carbon. Cyanotoxin testing is triggered by phytoplankton counts. All data must be reported to NJDEP monthly.
The breadth of that list reflects how seriously regulators view the contamination risks from this reservoir. This is not routine monitoring. It is surveillance — an attempt
to catch the next outbreak before it becomes a crisis.
The first monthly monitoring report — covering data collected under the new requirements — should now exist. I have submitted an OPRA request to NJDEP for that report.
When it arrives, it will be the first systematic look at what is actually in the water leaving the Pennington Reservoir under the new monitoring regime. It will tell us whether cyanobacteria and phytoplankton counts are elevated. It will tell us whether disinfection byproduct levels are within limits. It will tell us whether coliform bacteria were detected — and whether microcystin testing was triggered, and what it found.
The data may show nothing
alarming. I will report that plainly if it does. But the history of this reservoir doesn’t inspire confidence. The monitoring requirements exist because regulators share that concern. By the time this reaches you, the first monthly report should be in. Head to trentonwaterworks.substack.com to see what it shows.
Marc Leckington Leckington is a Trenton-based writer and civic watchdog best known for his in-depth reporting and commentary on water infrastructure and governance issues, particularly involving Trenton Water Works. Through his Substack newsletter, “From the Mains of Trenton,” he has built a reputation for closely tracking regulatory actions, environmental concerns, and political decisions affecting the region’s water system.
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