Town Topics Newspaper, March 9, 2022 by Witherspoon Media Group

Volume LXXVI, Number 10

Pages 19-22 “Ma Bell” Exhibit at Morven . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 New Hydroponic Garden At Littlebrook . . . . . . 10 Permit Parking Task Force Presents Reworked Plan . .14 A Westward Journey with Chopin and Keeley . . 17 PSO Presents Romantic Cello Concerto . . . . . 18 PU Alum Farmer Going After 3rd Paralympics Sled Hockey Gold Medal . . 30 PDS Girls’ Hockey Falls To Morristown-Beard in State Final . . . . . . . 32

Tosan Evbuomwan Helps PU Men’s Hoops Clinch Ivy Crown . . . . . . . . . 27 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 26 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 36 Luxury Living . . . . . . . . 2 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 35 Performing Arts . . . . . 23 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 6 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 36 School Matters . . . . . . 8 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6

WJNA Meeting to Discuss April ARTS, Trees, Witherspoon St. “Thirty Days of Creativity” in April, Princeton’s urban forestry program, and the Witherspoon Street corridor from Green Street to Franklin Avenue are all on the agenda for the next meeting of the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association (WJNA) on Saturday, March 19 at 1 p.m. at the Arts Council of Princeton (ACP). ACP Executive Director Adam Welch will be telling the WJNA gathering all about April ARTS, which begins on April 1 with the launch of the Princeton Piano Project and a happy hour kick-off at the ACP, and culminates with the Princeton Porchfest on April 23. “While Communiversity provided a fun afternoon for Princetonians and visitors alike, April ARTS will allow us to celebrate for an entire month,” said Welch. During the Porchfest event, locals and visitors will walk and bike around town from 12 to 6 p.m., enjoying live music at more than 10 different porches. “Porchfest, though not original to us, is handmade for Princeton,” Welch added. “This is truly an opportunity for our town to embrace the creativity and hospitality of our community.” A schedule of performers and their locations will be available at artscouncilofprinceton.org. As part of the Princeton Piano Project, seven pianos have been donated by community members and will be transformed by local artists, Welch said. On Friday, April 1, the pianos will be placed throughout town for the community to enjoy. Dozens of arts and cultural events will be presented by ACP and local businesses and organizations throughout the month. In a March 7 email, Welch commented

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Wednesday, March 9, 2022

BOH Weighs In on Cannabis in Princeton A proposed resolution generated by a three-member committee of the Princeton Board of Health (BOH), scheduled to be discussed at last night’s March 8 BOH meeting (after press time), recommends that any action to approve retail sales of cannabis in Princeton be deferred pending extensive additional planning and preparations to minimize possible negative effects. At its last meeting on February 8, the nine-member BOH held a discussion — first among BOH members, and then with participants from the general public — to consider the health impacts of recreational cannabis legalization and the specifics of the Princeton Cannabis Task Force’s November 23, 2021 report to Princeton Council, which recommended that the town permit a maximum of three retail dispensaries in town. A BOH work group was scheduled to present its findings and any recommendations at last night’s meeting. Princeton voters overwhelmingly supported the November 2020 state referendum to legalize the sale of recreational cannabis in New Jersey, but the question of retail sales in Princeton has given rise to increasingly heated debate at public meetings, in the press and social media, and elsewhere.

The BOH workgroup — Meredith Hodach Avalos, internist at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center; George DiFerdinando, general internist and longtime public health program director; and Rick Strauss, a pediatrician — created a 12page research report including background on cannabis and health impacts, and sections titled “Use Trends: General and Among Higher Risk Populations,” “Actions That Are Likely to increase or Decrease Youth Cannabis Use,” and “Predicting

Local Health Impacts of Recreational Cannabis Legalization and Sale.” A two-page draft resolution follows with 16 points, the last five suggesting specific actions that the community should take either immediately, prior to implementation of retail cannabis sales in the state in general, or in the short- or long-term future before opting for the opening of a dispensary in Princeton. “It’s a strong position,” said DiFerdinando, “which could be summed up as: Continued on Page 12

Princeton Residents Come Together in Solidarity With Ukraine as War Continues

As the war in Ukraine continues, different segments of the Princeton community struggled to understand, to take in the scale of the tragedy, and to create a meaningful response, with actions that might have positive effects. More than 200 people gathered at 5 p.m. on March 3, at first in Palmer Square’s Tiger Park on Nassau Street, then spilling across the street to the Nassau Presbyterian Church, for a Peace in Ukraine vigil sponsored by the Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA). CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore was overwhelmed by the size

and diversity of the crowd, more than four times larger than he had expected. “People were spreading the word,” he said. “It kept growing and growing. There were people of all ages and backgrounds including a lot of Ukrainian Americans.” Moore pondered the significance of coming together to show support for the Ukrainian people. “Part of the big challenge when you’re facing the violence and the deep, deep challenges that Ukraine is facing now is that you want to know that people around the world are standing in solidarity with you,” he said. “That counts Continued on Page 8

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“SUPPORT UKRAINE”: The crowd at last Thursday’s Peace in Ukraine vigil, sponsored by the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action, grew rapidly, spilling across the street from Palmer Square’s Tiger Park to the steps of the Nassau Presbyterian Church. Participants share what brought them to the vigil in this week’s Town Talk on page 6. (Photo by Charles A. Plohn)