Letters to the Editor, Dec. 12

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Dec. 12

Longtime barrier becomes a bridge
To the editor:
   
I was both pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the announcement that Princeton University is moving elements of its U-Store to Nassau Street.
   In one move, Princeton has gone from being a town with a university to becoming a university town.
   The fact that it took Nassau Hall 250 years to make this very necessary change is in itself a mystery — however, better late than never. Like the Harvard Coop, the U-Store will now serve to anchor the downtown, helping its own sales and providing a great boost to the existing downtown merchants.
   The announcement couldn’t have come at a better time. The retail game in the Princeton area is about to change and the downtown really needed a shot in the arm, like this, to help strengthen its foundation.
   In thanking the university and praising its vision, the announcement on Dec. 4 was, for me, a real Communiversity day. The town and gown finally comes together — and Nassau Street, which for too long has been a psychological barrier, now becomes a bridge.
David Newton
Palmer Square
Princeton
Bookstore closing is a terrible loss
To the editor:
   
I cannot believe it. I don’t want to believe it or read it. The heavy hand of the university is reaching across Nassau Street to crush Micawber Books and take over the property? That bookstore is unique and invaluable.
   For me and many others, Princeton is not PU — it is Micawber. It’s one of a kind. This is a terrible loss.
Lucy Mackenzie
Franklin Avenue
Princeton
Weight of evidence sinks Route 92
To the editor:
   
When the state of New Jersey gave the New Jersey Turnpike Authority the mission to build Route 92, the NJTA was told to build the highway "as the authority, after study, deems appropriate." Somewhere along the line, the NJTA turned "deems appropriate" into "makes necessary, appropriate or not."
   Route 92 has many times been declared "dead," but never officially. Much to the chagrin of the handful of municipal governments in favor of the road, agencies and citizens have been lining up to put nails in the Route 92 coffin.
   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection have rejected the Route 92 plan. The townships of South Brunswick, Franklin, Hopewell, Montgomery and East Amwell, as well as the boroughs of Rocky Hill and Hopewell, are also opposed to Route 92. State Sen. Peter Inverso, Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein and Assemblyman Bill Baroni have all spoken out against the highway. Local environmental, historic and community groups also rejected Route 92. Both during the May 2004 Draft EIS public hearing and in the written comments on the draft, the overwhelming majority of comments were against Route 92.
   When the Final Environmental Impact Statement was released in October, it became clear that the NJTA could only amass a disparate collection of ever-changing flimsy reasons why the highway should be built. Not one of the project purposes is fully met in the most recent iteration; indeed, the document demonstrates that environmental and traffic conditions will be worse should Route 92 be built. In the FEIS, the NJTA was clearly, languidly, grasping at straws.
   Sensing that the political winds were not blowing in its direction, the NJTA last year removed its funding for Route 92 and placed the money elsewhere. Now the NJTA has given up and withdrawn all of its permit applications. Indeed, the lead agency for Route 92 seems to have lost interest in its own highway.
   The battle over Route 92 shows what happens when communities are pitted against each other instead of being brought together to solve regional problems, such as excessive congestion. The people of Central Jersey have long sought a regional forum to solve east-west congestion; perhaps with the death of the hyper-divisive Route 92, we can all work together on a solution that works for all of us.
Laura Lynch
Conservation Chair
New Jersey Chapter
Sierra Club
Lumar Road
Lawrence
Steve Masticola
Chair, No 92
Church Street
Franklin
Paula McGuire
West Windsor Citizens for Transportation Alternatives
Washington Road
West Windsor
Sandy Shapiro
Wycombe Way
West Windsor
Bush unlikely to change course
To the editor:
   
Regarding your Dec. 8 editorial, the coolness that President Bush has displayed toward the Iraq Study Group’s recommendations should not surprise anyone, but it should throw up a huge yellow caution flag.
   The study group does not mince words in stating that Iraq is an enormous mess. In my view this is not a conclusion that the self-proclaimed Decider — who has sacrificed thousands of lives, billions of dollars, and a great deal of our international stature in attaining this catastrophe — will ever genuinely accept. Remember, this is the same man who famously struggled to identify a single mistake that he’d made.
   The inherent irony is that the very man who has again and again demonstrated such critically flawed judgment now will decide how best to "go forward" in Iraq. That is an extremely disheartening and frightening prospect. When President Bush announces his new Iraq policy (sometime before Christmas, according to widespread rumors), the public should expect and demand that the new Congress and the media bring all their powers of critical analysis to bear upon whatever he proposes.
Russ Weiss
Wittmer Court
Princeton
Exhibit owes much to university spirit
To the editor:
   
Last week’s TimeOFF (Dec. 1-10) ran a story featuring my photo-documentary exhibit, "Unacceptable Losses: Drugs and Addiction in the United States," which opened Dec. 4 at Princeton University’s Robertson Hall.
   "Unacceptable Losses" is a body of work years in the making, which was made possible by generous support from the Reach Out ’56 Foundation, a public interest program of Princeton University’s Class of 1956, which has been awarded with the Alumni Council’s Community Service Award.
   While I received a fellowship upon graduation in 2004 to produce this body of work, I gained much more than financial resources. The mentorship, guidance and life experience afforded by my involvement with Reach Out ’56 has added significantly to my Princeton experience and speaks to the tremendous spirit of the university and its alumni (especially those in the Class of 1956), which continues to make Princeton one of the finest institutions in the nation.
Arthur Robinson Williams
Regent Square
Philadelphia
Supporters thanked from the heart
To the editor:
   
Thank you, Mercer County. Thank you to the businesses, sponsors, survivors, teams and the walkers and runners from all over Mercer County that made the American Heart Association Mercer County Heart Walk and 5K Challenge Heart Run a success.
   Funding research, finding answers, saving lives. Money raised from Mercer County Heart Walk supports American Heart Association education, programs and heart and stroke research — education and research that help our families, friends and neighbors here in Mercer County to survive heart disease and stroke.
   I am a survivor of open-heart surgery and heart valve replacement and served as the red cap survivor co-ambassador of 2006 American Heart Association Mercer County Heart Walk. Did you know that through funded research, the American Heart Association helped bring us such heart milestones as artificial heart valves and heart valve replacement surgery? That is in addition to microsurgery, the pacemaker, CPR, open-heart surgery with artificial heart machine, coronary bypass surgery and more.
   Close to 2,500 Mercer County walkers and runners supported the 2006 American Heart Association Heart Walk "change tomorrow, today" theme by participating in Mercer County Heart Walk and raised more than $365,000. Those funds will help fund more research, find more answers and save more lives. Thank you, Mercer County.
   Be sure to wear something red on Friday, Feb. 2 — the fourth annual American Heart Association National Wear Red Day for Women. Wear something red to bring attention to the No. 1 killer of women — cardiovascular disease. Nearly 500,000 women die each year from cardiovascular disease — more female lives than from the next five causes of death combined, including all cancers. Love your heart and learn more about National Wear Red Day for Women or request a "Wear Red Day" kit by calling the American Heart Association New Jersey state office at (609) 208-0020.
Annette Young
American Heart Association Red Cap Survivor Ambassador
2006 Mercer County Heart Walk
Carnegie Center
West Windsor