Week in Review: Jughandle Trial, Tilghman Announces Resignation and More

Cheesecake Factory Prepares to Open on Wednesday

Local business owners, residents and mall employees got a sneak peek of The Cheesecake Factory at the Quaker Bridge Mall, which opened on Wednesday, Sept. 19. “We expect more than 10,000 people a week,” said restaurant manager Scott Bender who most recently managed the Freehold location and launched the Bridgewater Cheesecake Factory before that.

(UPDATED) Sexual Assault Reported on Princeton U Campus

Princeton Borough Police and the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office are investigating an allegation of sexual assault and invasion of privacy on the Princeton University campus. The alleged incident occured on Sunday, Sept. 16.  Both the victim and the accused are Princeton University students are are known to each other, according to police. 

Resident Wants Princeton to Change Sidewalk Repair Assessments

Before Tuesday’s storm hit, Barbara Prince walked along the sidewalk that wraps around her Magnolia Lane property in Princeton Township, picking up stray branches downed by the wind.  In the winter, she makes sure the sidewalk is free of snow and ice. Prince doesn’t understand is why the cost of the sidewalk repair falls only to homeowners whose property abuts the sidewalk. Residents on both sides of the street use the sidewalk, she said.

Transition Costs Estimated at $1.6-$1.8 Million

Princeton has spent $288,000 on transition costs to date and preliminary estimates show transition costs will total about $1.5-$1.7 million, Finance Subcommittee Chairman Scott Sillars said Wednesday. In comparison, the Consolidation Commission estimated $1.2 for transition costs. 

Gusciora: End Route 1 Jughandle Pilot

NJ District 16 Assemblyman Reed Gusciora called for the end of the Route 1 pilot program at Washington Road and Harrison Street in West Windsor, saying the project intended to fix traffic congestion woes has generated even further problems by increasing illegal U-Turns and K-Turns in the Penns Neck neighborhood. "My main concern is the danger that this program is posing for the residents, and I must respectfully ask that you seriously consider the ramifications of this program and put a halt to the pilot’s existence," Gusciora wrote in a letter to NJ DOT Commissioner James Simpson. 

DOT: Jughandle Pilot Will Continue

Despite Assemblyman Reed Gusciora’s call on Tuesday to end the Route 1 jughandle closure pilot program, a NJ DOT spokesman said there are no plans to do so. “We have not seen anything that would stop this pilot program in its tracks,” NJ DOT Spokesman Joe Dee said. “We promised if there were unintended consequences so severe that it needed to be stopped we would, but we’re not seeing that. We need to give people more time to adjust their routes.”

Eyewitness Describes Fatal Helicopter Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to issue a report on the helicopter crash that killed Michael Scarfia, 65, in West Windsor last week, but one eyewitness tells  what he saw that day. “I didn't see anything special or different until it was probably less than a mile away from me,” Joe Enhuei of West Windsor said. “All of a sudden the blades broke off. One of the blades split into two or three pieces and then another intact blade hit the broken pieces.”

(UPDATED) Shirley Tilghman to Step Down as Princeton University President

Shirley M. Tilghman, president of Princeton University since 2001 will step down as Princeton’s 19th president at the end of this academic year. Tilghman informed the Board of Trustees of her decision this weekend at the board’s regular September meetings.  In a letter e-mailed to the University community, Tilghman said “I believe that together we have made Princeton a stronger and more vibrant University.” There is a “natural rhythm to university presidencies,” she said, and with “major priorities accomplished or well on their way to being realized, and the [recently completed $1.88 billion Aspire fundraising] campaign successfully concluded, it is time for Princeton to turn to its 20th president to chart the path for the next decade and beyond.”