Carolyn Jones

A Bright Finish for Witherspoon Street Leaves Princeton Asking New Questions

For TAPinto Princeton – A streetscape designed to improve visibility has opened a broader discussion about light pollution and quality of life.

In their sustainability efforts, Princeton’s town and gown face one glaring problem

For TAPinto Princeton – Princeton astrophysicist warns of a surge in light pollution — with sky brightness tripling in just 13 years.

Hopewell neighbors work together for darker skies

For MercerMe – DarkSky Hopewell blends science and design to curb light pollution and restore the night sky

Princeton parents learn crossing guard funds exist, but posts remain empty

For TAPinto Princeton – The missing crossing guard at Harrison and Prospect is explained at a Riverside Elementary town hall, but parents still have action to take.

Princeton’s crash count rises – but what’s really behind it?

For TAPinto Princeton – Some residents point to growth and congestion; town officials and advocates aren’t so sure.

Watershed Institute sounds the alarm over Princeton-bound sludge plume in Stony Brook

For TAPinto Princeton – Officials say the plume is natural clay from bridge repairs — but conservationists warn the sediment could smother aquatic life.

When Princeton floods: what every resident should know

For TAPinto Princeton – Texas’s deadly floods are a reminder — Princeton has its own risks, from basement seepage to submerged roads.

Toxins surface in the Delaware & Raritan Canal amid rollback of federal rules to fight them

For Delaware Currents– the Trump Administration’s dilution ofPFAS regulations imperils the quality of a water source most central New Jersey consumers didn’t know they had. This article also appeared in NJ Spotlight News.

Federal cuts cloud forecast at Princeton’s legendary climate lab

For TAPinto Princeton – As the Trump Administration slashes funding for climate research, scientists across the U.S. speak out— unofficially.

Hey, bear! American black bears are increasingly common in Princeton

For TAPinto Princeton – As New Jersey’s black bear population grows, Princeton’s Animal Control Officer, Jim Ferry, has some practical advice: Don’t feed them, don’t surprise them, and definitely don’t run

Fleeing the scene: Princeton grapples with a persistent rate of hit and runs

For TAPinto Princeton – Even with an alert community and active police investigations, hit-and-run drivers often disappear without a trace — in Princeton and across the nation.

When the power goes out, Princeton heads to the library

For The Sustainability Reporting Hub – From hurricane refuge to climate resilience hub, the Princeton Public Library’s ‘Library of Things’ redefines what it means to be prepared. (Produced in collaboration with TAPinto Princeton)

The native plant rescue mission

For The Sustainability Reporting Hub – Facing habitat loss and declining biodiversity, a Princeton-based nursery helps gardeners restore New Jersey’s wild beauty, one seedling at a time. (Produced in collaboration with TAPinto Princeton)

How to save a salamander

For The Sustainability Reporting Hub – A Princeton volunteer brigade helps frogs and salamanders survive their perilous spring migration — but keeping humans safe is proving just as hard. (Produced in collaboration with TAPinto Princeton)

School district left parents in the dark about high lead levels in school drinking fountains in 2022

For TAPinto Princeton –
Testing of school drinking fountains in 2022 showed alarming lead levels but the results were not communicated to parents, raising questions about transparency, safety, and what comes next for district families.

Excess lead found in seven drinking fountains at four elementary schools

For TAPinto Princeton – A spigot in one of the classrooms had 8 times the limit; District took 19 days to shut fountains down.

Princeton parents push for safer streets

For The Sustainability Reporting Hub – A new initiative hopes to get more kids walking and biking to school, boosting independence, sustainability, and road safety. (Produced in collaboration with TAPinto Princeton)

A dangerous Princeton intersection prompts parents to ask, Where is the crossing guard?

For TAPinto Princeton – Parent groups advocate to make streets safer for kids walking and biking to school — Harrison and Prospect is a case in point.

What caused the taste and odor problems in Princeton’s drinking water?

For TAPinto Princeton – A reader asked what caused the quality breach last December. The culprit? An industrial perfume, leaking near a loading dock in Somerset County.

How much PFAS is in Princeton’s water? Not zero.

For TAPinto Princeton – Princeton’s water meets state guidelines for how many ‘forever chemicals’ are acceptable in the water supply, but exceeds EPA standards. Neighboring towns are even higher. Water providers are scrambling to meet a 2029 quality deadline.

Where are those police sirens going?

For TAPinto Princeton – In November 2024, the Princeton Police department responded to 61 crashes on our roads. In this first column, we summarized each crash in order to give residents an idea of what can go wrong when pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers circulate around our town.

The most dangerous place for Princeton’s pedestrians? On the crosswalk

For TAPinto Princeton – Police reports show where cars are crashing into bicyclists and pedestrians. Exactly no one is surprised.

First the flood, then the paperwork

For TAPinto Princeton – Steve Waskow wants to move his house out of the floodplain, but rules designed for a more stable climate keep his home in harm’s way. (This article was a recipient of a 2025 Excellence in Local News Award. Many thanks to Steve for sharing his story with me!)

Lake Carnegie gets an unwelcome summer visitor

For TAPinto Princeton – toxic cyanobacteria in the lake feast on lawn fertilizer, stormwater runoff, and animal waste. A rapidly warming climate doesn’t help. (This article was in the 2024 Top 10 most viewed articles across the TAPinto franchise, which covers 90 news sites in four states.)

Come hell or high water

For TAPinto Princeton – a dramatic rescue highlights why Princeton spent $250k on a high-water rescue truck

Pregnant? Scared? Can they help?

For The Texas Observer – a feature about Texas’s crisis pregnancy centers

Lawmakers Force Women to Have Sonograms

For The Texas Observer — an article about the Texan law requiring women seeking abortions to have a government-mandated abortion first. This article was reprinted in Le Chatelaine.

Need an abortion? Don’t be poor.

For The Texas Observer — A feature about the financial plight of low-income women who wish to terminate their pregnancies. I won the 2014 Anson Jones Award from the Texas Medical Association for this piece.

Texan woman forced out of state.

For Al Jazeera America — The 20-week abortion ban forces women seeking abortion care to other states.

Abortion provider in fight-or-settle dilemma

For The Guardian — Planned Parenthood affiliates across the U.S. are battling expensive and lengthy whistleblower lawsuits. Influential anti-choice legal groups are behind them.