JULY

1 - Toll Brothers filed a lawsuit against West Windsor seeking to overturn the township's timed-growth ordinance.

A Princeton Borough patrolman, William Nathan, filed a lawsuit against Borough Council, Police Chief Tom Michaud and Borough Administrator Tom Shannon alleging he was denied promotions and discriminated against due to his race. Mr. Nathan is of Indian descent.

4 - A month after Montgomery Dr. Eric Braverman's medical license was reinstated, the physician filed legal action against his former attorney, a psychologist and a tabloid newspaper, which he called symbols of a society that failed him.

8 - The Princeton Township Committee introduced an ordinance that would create a 1-cent tax to raise money for the acquisition of open space.

The Plainsboro Township Committee approved a police contract that provided lower starting salaries, but raised salaries of existing officers 3.5 percent in 199a7 and 3.25 percent in 1998 and 1999.

A Princeton Theological Seminary student charged with attempting to sexually assault a Princeton University student in May returned to his studies and was living on campus while awaiting trial.

18 - F.W. Woolworth announced it was planning to close all of its stores, including one in Princeton Borough, a fixture on Nassau Street for 65 years.

For the second straight year, Montgomery homeowners were expected to get property tax bills with the highest increase in The Packet area - 10.5 percent. The average residential tax bill was expected to rise 7.8 percent in Princeton Borough and West Windsor, 6.4 percent in Plainsboro and 4.8 percent in Princeton Township.

22 - A survey sent out to Plainsboro residents showed overwhelming opposition to a proposal to build a 17-acre mixed-use village center at Schalks Crossing and Scudders Mill roads - a project that would have included the township's only gas station.

25 - Princeton Borough Council approved a program that would make several dozen repaired, repainted and reinspected used bicycles available for use, free of charge.

29 - A 10 percent rise in larcenies was responsible for increases in the overall crime rates in five of six Packet-area municipalities in 1996, according to the state police Uniform Crime Report. The crime rates rose 22.1 percent in Rocky Hill, 13.5 percent in Princeton Township, 10 percent in West Windsor, 5.2 percent in Princeton Borough and 1.5 percent in Montgomery. The rate fell 13 percent in Plainsboro.

AUGUST

1 - Despite the growing number of chain stores moving into Princeton, a Packet survey of properties on Nassau Street from Bayard Lane to Vandeventer Avenue found that 54 percent of their owners were from Princeton or West Windsor.

5 - Construction workers were putting the final touches on the new Millstone River campus of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School on Grovers Mill Road in Plainsboro.

8 - The state Division of Youth and Family Services said it would stop referring children to two Montgomery psychologists, Allen Blasucci and Luis Nieves, after an administrative law judge recommended that Mr. Blasucci's license be revoked and Mr. Nieves' license be suspended.

12 - Four people were injured when three tractor-trailers and a minivan collided on Route 206 north of Harlingen in Montgomery.

19 - The average selling prices of houses in Princeton Borough and Plainsboro during the second quarter of this year were more than 20 percent higher than during the same period last year, according to multiple listing service reports. Relatively modest price increases were recorded in Princeton Township (6.5 percent) and West Windsor (3.1 percent).

22 - A nonprofit group based in the Princetons confirmed it was considering whether to seek Planning Board approval to build a continuing care retirement community on the former Ingersoll-Rand property in Montgomery.

The Mercer County Board of Freeholders unanimously approved an ordinance locking the Princetons and other municipalities into a 10-year contract with the GROWS landfill despite complaints that the county had not sought competitive bids.

Montgomery High School provided the best educational value for students in the state, according to the September issue of New Jersey Monthly magazine. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School also made the magazine's list of the 48 "most efficient and effective public high schools." Princeton High School was not included on the list.

26 - The Greenhouse restaurant at the Nassau Inn closed abruptly - and permanently - after a two-alarm fire tore through the eatery's kitchen, forcing about 40 restaurant customers and 50 guests at the inn to evacuate.

Princeton University tied Harvard University for the top spot in the U.S. News and World Report's annual rankings of the best universities in the nation.

29 - Montgomery High School's SAT scores in 199a7 were the highest in at least a decade, West Windsor-Plainsboro's were the highest in at least five years and Princeton's - the highest in the state in 1996 - fell 10 points, according to test results released this week.

SEPTEMBER

2 - A Princeton Borough bicycle patrol officer pursuing a drug suspect shot himself in the leg Friday after his gun discharged when her returned the weapon to its holster.

Westminster Choir College at Rider University dedicated the $1.5 million Presser Music Center at Erdman Hall.

5 - Olivia Kuenne, 5, of Princeton died in a tragic accident while on vacation with her family on Lake Champlain. Olivia was sitting on a bench made from stone slabs at a private residence when someone reached over the bench to pick her up, police said. Somehow the back of the bench became dislodged and fell on Olivia, resulting in her death.

Due to construction delays, the Princeton Charter School began its inaugural year at rented facilities in the Nassau Presbyterian Church.

12 - Four candidates filed nominating petitions in West Windsor for the Township Council seat vacated by Mayor Carole Carson. The candidates included two former mayors, Tom Frascella and Gene O'Brien.

16 - About 20 members of the Borough Merchants for Princeton signed a petition opposing a state Department of Transportation proposal to close Washington Road upon completion of the proposed Millstone Bypass.

19 - Princeton Borough Council voted to file a lawsuit against the Mercer County Board of Freeholders and the Mercer County Improvement Authority, contending that the county's 10-year contract with GROWS landfill in Falls Township, Pa., would deny the borough an opportunity to seek less expensive contractors to dispose of its trash.

23 - Citing a loss of faith in the Princeton Charter School's academic program, a founder and part-time teacher at the school, Toby Peterson, resigned after one week of classes.

A new method of determining how United Way of Greater Mercer County funds are allocated resulted in funding cuts for nearly a dozen Princeton-area programs, including the Breast Cancer Resource Center and the English as a Second Language program at the YWCA-Princeton.

26 - Ying Lu, 51, of Linden Lane, Princeton, was charged with kidnapping after she briefly held a 7-month-old baby hostage. She allegedly used the infant as collateral to force the baby's parents to pay $650 on an overdue telephone bill.

Wegmans, an upscale Rochester, N.Y.-based supermarket chain, finalized plans to build a 120,000-square-foot superstore in West Windsor's Nassau Park retail complex.

30 - More than 20,000 people packed Palmer Square over two days for the annual JAZZfeast sponsored by The Princeton Packet and Palmer Square.

OCTOBER

3 - Hollywood magic returned to Princeton as Universal Studios began filming "One True Thing" on the Princeton University campus. The cast included William Hurt, Meryl Streep and Renee Zellweger. The screenplay was based on a novel by Anna Quindlen, former columnist for The New York Times.

7 - The SuperFresh supermarket at Princeton Shopping Center, whose predecessor, A&P, was one of the original tenants when the mall opened 43 years ago, confirmed that it would be closing in two weeks due to dissappointing sales.

Isiah Goldman, a West Windsor-Plainsboro High School senior who faced up to six years in a juvenile detention facility after being charged with supplying the heroin that resulted in the overdose death of classmate Elizabeth Danser last year, negotiated a plea bargain calling for three years probation and 200 hours of community service.

10 - Totally Wired, a Nassau Street eatery that opened earlier in the year, announced it would be closing its doors later this month and opening them a week later with a new name and a new identity.

Magicians Penn+Teller brought their irreverent tricks and humor to the McCarter Theater stage in a program that benefited the Princeton Public Library.

17 - The Princeton Regional Board of Education asked the Mercer County superintendent to reject Princeton Charter School's request for a waiver that would allow the school to double the number of grades it was originally authorized to add in September 1998.

21 - The owners of Davidson's supermarket on Nassau Street confirmed that they intended to close its doors on or about Jan. 1, leaving downtown Princeton without a grocery store.

West Windsor Township Council approved a three-year police contract providing raises of 3.5 percent each of the three years.

24 - The state Supreme Court announced it would hear an appeal by two Princeton Borough attorneys who contend the use of mobile data terminals by police to check motorists' license plates constitutes an unconstitutional search and an invasion of privacy.

28 - Le Plumet Royal had the top rating for food in the Princeton area in the 1998 Zagat New Jersey Restaurant Survey. Lahiere's and Le Plumet tied for the highest rating for decor in the area, and Lahiere's had the top rating for service. Lahiere's had the second highest rating for food; Quilty's and Teresa's Pizzetta Caffe tied for third.

Local stocks were among those that plummeted during the largest single-day decline in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average - 554.26 points. The big losers included Merrill Lynch, CoreStates Financial and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Princeton Borough Council began discussions about the size, cost and scope of the Monument Drive renovations, a comprehensive reconstruction of the street and park surrounding Borough Hall.

31 - As an alternative to Route 92, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggested that the N.J. Turnpike Authority consider a six-lane highway that would follow Scudders Mill Road from Route 1 to Dey Road, then follow Dey Road before heading north across the McCormick tract and Walker-Gordon farm. It would ultimately merge with the Turnpike Authority's proposed alignment in neighboring South Brunswick.

A Montgomery man was free on $250,000 bail after being charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office with using the Internet to lure a juvenile into unlawful sexual activity. According to authorities, Charles "Hank" Schoeffel, 50, of 18 Wilshire Drive, posed as a 15-year-old high school student from Princeton in an attempt to seduce a 14-year-old Connecticut girl.

NOVEMBER

4 - Eight people, including a mother and her two sons, were arrested by Princeton Borough police during a drug raid at a Clay Street public housing unit.

A Littlebrook School bus driver who reported for work on Halloween dressed as the Grim Reaper was charged with driving while intoxicated after frightening children in their classrooms.

The home of Peggy Longstreth Bayer at 610 Snowden Lane, Princeton Township, was destroyed by a fire that started in a carport and spread to the rest of the house. Mrs. Bayer was not injured.

7 - Law enforcement officers conducted a massive manhunt in Princeton for two armed suspects following an attempted robbery in which three hostages were taken and one bank robber was killed by Princeton Borough police following a confrontation in the bank's elevator.

11 - A $5,000 reward was posted for information leading to the arrest of a 26-year-old Trenton man wanted in connection with the bank robbery at the Sovereign Bank in Princeton.

14 - Nearly 10 months after being arrested for drug trafficking in a massive police sting that netted 30 people in the Princetons, former Princeton Borough resident Harold Davila was arrested again, this time for allegedly planning and participating in the botched armed robbery at the Sovereign Bank.

Palmer Square Management announced that it would draw up preliminary plans for a revised Hulfish North development that would include a mix of uses - residential, retail and commercial.

21 - Sandy Casiano, the third suspect in the robbery of Sovereign Bank, was arrested at a restaurant in Queens, N.Y., following a 12-day manhunt that police say began when he eluded law enforcement officials in Princeton by taking a taxi to the Princeton Junction train station.

A Superior Court judge ruled that West Windsor's timed-growth ordinance was invalid because it was inconsistent with the state's Municipal Land Use Law.

28 - The average resale price of houses in four Packet-area communities failed to keep pace with the 6.8 percent increase in New Jersey during the third quarter. Selling prices rose 6.5 percent in West Windsor and 3.5 percent in Princeton Borough from July 1 to Sept. 30, compared to the same period in 1996. Average prices fell slightly in Montgomery-Rocky Hill - 0.9 percent - and were down 6.3 percent in Princeton Township, which experienced a 9.4 percent increase in 1996.

DECEMBER

2 - The outgoing assistant superintendent in the Princeton Regional School District, Cheryl Simone, said Princeton's schools failed to deliver on their promises.

Kristine M. Layn, a 23-year-old Princeton University chemical engineering graduate student, was killed in an automobile accident when her 1996 Ford Escort slid into oncoming traffic and was struck on the driver's side by a pickup truck on an icy stretch of Route 3 in Saranac, N.Y.

Mark Bovenizeer, owner of Community Liquors in Princeton, purchased 23-25 Witherspoon St., which included his liquor store, the Athenian restaurant and a three-story warehouse behind the building, from Athenian owner Jim Tzovolos.

5 - A Princeton Township woman was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a minor after allegedly holding an 18-month old infant under scalding bathwater. The foster mother of the child, Deanne Gillette, 28, of 62 Redding Circle, allegedly injured the child Saturday, but didn't take him to a doctor until Tuesday, after a state Division of Youth and Family Services worker noticed the burns during a routine visit and ordered Ms. Gillette to take the child to a doctor, police said.

9 - More than 500 people packed McCosh Hall on the Princeton University campus to hear a speech by feminist writer Gloria Steinem.

12 - The attempts by rescue squad members and a team of nurses and doctors at the Medical Center at Princeton to save the life of a 2-year-old Princeton Township girl, Morgan Levine, who stopped breathing for no apparent reason, were unsuccessful.

After months of hearings, the Princeton Township zoning board rejected a variance request by Alain and Katherine Kornhauser to permit commercial uses at the Our Lady of Princeton convent off the Great Road. The vote was 4-3.

The West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education announced it was considering reorganizing the grade structure of its elementary schools and reconsidering its previous decision to convert the Upper Elementary School into two K-5 elementary schools.

16 - As a solution to overcrowding at Princeton High School, district administrators proposed building a three-story, $9.6 million addition.

Two pedestrians were struck by a car while crossing Paul Robeson Place near the First Baptist Church in Princeton.

The State House Commission recommended that the state sell 22 acres at the North Princeton Developmental Center to the Montgomery Board of Education for $1.95 million.

19 - Princeton Township Committee members confirmed that Committeewoman Phyllis Marchand would be appointed mayor at the committee's reorganization meeting Jan. 4.

A 45-year-old West Windsor man, whom police would not identify, was beaten by two men who forced their way into his house on Lexington Court.

23 - The Princeton Township Committee awarded the contract for the design of its new $9 million municipal complex to Kehrt Shatken Sharon of Princeton Township - the same firm the committee rejected four years ago because its fees were too high.