News & Notes: Former aides to Christie convicted over Bridgegate scandal
Two of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s former aides were found guilty of all charges related to the 2013 Bridgegate scandal in a federal court on Friday.
Two of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s former aides were found guilty of all charges related to the 2013 Bridgegate scandal in a federal court on Friday.
Becoming ambassadors of higher education and searching for solutions to issues confronting academia today are important missions for University graduates, said legal scholar Randall Kennedy ’77 at the 269th Baccalaureate ceremony on Sunday.
Azza Cohen ’16 was elected Young Alumni Trustee, chosen out of three finalists vying for the position.Cohen will join Tumi Akinlawon '15, Brian Reilly '14 and Kanwal Matharu '13, and serve four years on the University's Board of Trustees.
Approximately 5,000 students and community members flocked to Prospect Avenue this past Saturday to attend TruckFest, an annual event hosted by University eating clubs and organized by the Community Service Inter-Club Council in conjunction with the Pace Center for Civic Engagement.CSICC co-chairs Cason Crane ’17 andRachel Margulies ’16 noted that earnings from this year’s event came out to $9,000 more than the earnings from last year. Judging by ticket sales, Margulies estimated that this year’s profit was around $33,000.
The musical group CHVRCHES will be headlining the spring 2016 Lawnparties, Undergraduate Student Government President Aleksandra Czulak ’17 announced in the Lawnparties website Thursday.USG Social Committee Chair Rachel Park ’18 noted that the Social Committee has not yet determined the performer for the opening act, and she added that the committee plans to determine the opening act performer within the next few days.CHVRCHES is a Scottish electronic band that was formed in 2011 by lead singer Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty.
23 residents in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood of downtown Princeton have joined a lawsuit filed against the University’s tax-exempt status on April 1.Every year by April 1, a new suit has to be filed to continue the preexisting proceedings,Bruce Afran, an attorney who represents the plaintiffs, said.The original suit was filed in 2011 by several residents of Princeton, and was subsequently challenged by the University in February 2015, but was overturned by Judge Vito Bianco of the New Jersey State Tax Court.Bianco’s office did not respond to a request for comment.Robert Durkee ’69, University vice president and secretary, wrote in an email that neither the University nor the tax management office have received filing of the update to the new suit yet.He declined to comment further until such information is provided.Media relations specialist Min Pullan and General Counsel Ramona Romero did not respond to a request for comment.The New Jersey Tax Court clarified in November 2015 that the University must carry a burden of proof to ensure tax exemption.
In a recent report published by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the University wasgiven a red light rating— the lowest in the evaluation scheme — for protecting free speech. Samantha Harris ’99, the director of policy research at FIRE, said the ratings are based solely on the explicitly written policies of the institution. A red light rating denotes that the institution has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech, Harris said.
In the 2020 census, the US Census Bureau plans to use new technologies to tackle challenges such as a declining response rate and economic restraints, Lisa Blumerman, associate director of the Decennial Census Programs said at a lecture on Wednesday.The Census asks ten basic questions about age, sex, race and other identifiers.
The Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division rejected anappealfiled by “Save the Dinky,” a local organization comprised of Princeton residents who oppose the University’s decision to relocate the Dinky train station, last Wednesday, according to official court records provided by Peter McAleer, communications manager for New Jersey Courts. University Media Relations Specialist Min Pullan said via email that the University was pleased with the decision made by the Appellate Division. In their complaint, “Save the Dinky” challenged the NJ Transit’s decision to move the Dinky line branch station 460 feet south of the current site in order to develop an Arts and Transit center. “The people that got involved with this side of the case thought that there were some bad decisions being made from a historic structure standpoint [and] from a public transportation standpoint that were to the detriment of the traveling public and to the benefit of one large private real estate developer [the University],” said Philip Rosenbach, the attorney representing “Save the Dinky.” He added that moving the station further from the center of town made the move more inconvenient for travelers. Construction for thenew stationbegan in 2013 and the new dinky started operating in November 2014. According to court documents, the University, its Board of Trustees and New Jersey Transit were named as defendants in one case filed by “Save the Dinky.” Asecond casewas filed as an appeal in conjunction with the Board of Directors of New Jersey Transit Corporation and the New Jersey Association for Railroad Passengers against the New Jersey Transit Corporation.
The University's Student Health Plan replaced provider from Catamaran/Express Scripts with OptumRx to reduce costs, according to Director of University Health Services Janet Finnie. The change became effective on Jan.