William Nicoson Newspaper Columns

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https://hdl.handle.net/1920/41

The William Nicoson Newspaper Columns are part of a larger collection of materials donated by William Nicoson to the University Libraries. His collection, in turn, is part of the Planned Community Archives, which includes voluminous materials on Reston, Virginia. Access to information about these collections is available from Planned Community Archives and William Nicoson Papers

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The Hallowed Ground Parkway--Will Loudoun Kill the Project?
(Reston Times, 2006-05-03) Nicoson, William J.
The National Register of Historic Places offers a “Journey Through Hallowed Ground” using US Route 15 (with a few miles of VA Route 20) to connect Gettysburg, PA, with Charlottesville, VA, thus linking the historic Civil War battlefield with Monticello, the plantation of Thomas Jefferson...The National Trust for Historic Preservation has declared this 175-mile corridor to be an endangered historic site and has set about establishing a tristate conservation program to protect and enhance access to the historic battlegrounds and presidential residences in the corridor. It has named the project The Hallowed Ground Parkway...
A Tavern Comes to Lake Anne
(Reston Times, 2006-03-01) Nicoson, William J.
Reston's Lake Anne Village Center has been celebrated for the number and quality of its restaurants. Beginning in 2003 the largest of these restaurants, known as Il Cigno (The Swan), specialized in Italian cuisine designed by a highly-regarded chef, Andrea Pace, a graduate of The Excelsior Culinary Institute in Merano, Italy. But the owner of the restaurant, Tony Arbid, invested in a capacious terrace canopy which a number of Lake Anne residents found objectionable. He eventually replaced the canopy with umbrellas but decided to move his restaurant and chef to a Great Falls location known now as Fiora di Luna (Moon Blossom).
Pleasures of Surrealism in Reston
(Reston Times, 2006-01-25) Nicoson, William J.
Surrealistic art surprises us, sometimes shocks us, but always forces us to think. It’s an art that opens our horizons from the obvious to the obscure. At its best, it is represented by Dana Ann Scheurer’s watercolors in her current exhibition at the Hyatt Regency Bar & Grill in Reston’s Town Center. Don’t miss it.
Incorporating Reston: Triumph or Folly
(Reston Times, 2005-12-01) Nicoson, William J.
In the 1970s and 80s, several efforts by community activists were made to incorporate Reston as a town. One effort resulted in a referendum by residents on a town charter adopted by the Virginia House of Delegates. It failed, largely, I believe, because it offered no new powers to the community other than garbage collection.
Airports Authority Promotes Rail to Dulles
(Reston Times, 2005-12-28) Nicoson, William J.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has made public a sweeping plan which would combine the current two construction phases of rail to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County, relieve Virginia of future project expenditures, dispense with the time-consuming red tape of federal financing, substitute financing by tax-exempt bonds issued by the Authority, and assume responsibility for, and benefits of, Toll Road operations, including toll rate setting.
Newspaper Column: Tom Davis as NIMBY? Say It Ain't So!
(Reston Times, 2005-04) Nicoson, William J.
I’ve always liked Tom Davis. In 1991, I was jubilant when he defeated Audrey Moore, then Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Three years later I was pleased to see him vault into the House of Representatives with a constituency which included Restonians. By 1998 Davis had been promoted into the 5-man Republican leadership of the House. That year the GOP held 220 House seats. And that year no Democrat could be found to run against him. 1998 was also the year that Davis raised $160,000 for the National Republican Congressional Committee. In 1997 Davis had raised $150,000 for Republican candidates running for state legislative seats. While initially close to Tom DeLay, Davis has also displayed independence from hardcore conservatives within his party.
Newspaper Column: An Election Scramble
(Reston Times, 2005-02) Nicoson, William J.
Who said what to whom has become a major issue in the tightly contested race to determine who will win the at-large seat on the Reston Association board being vacated by Vicky Wingert. Two other board members will also be elected but without controversy: the Dogwood candidate, Barbara Aaron, is running unopposed, and the apartment owners’ candidate will not be nominated or elected by residents as a whole. Three candidates are vying for the at-large seat: Bill Keefe, Jerry Volloy and Brian “Rock” Brown. The question for voters is to identify which candidate is best equipped to deal with current pressing issues facing the board.
Newspaper Column: Gaining Densities at Lake Anne
(Reston Times, 2005-03) Nicoson, William J.
The plaza at Lake Anne, Reston’s first village center, is a masterpiece of architectural inspiration and dynamic design. But for many years it has been apparent that its shops and restaurants lack the commercial dynamics of those located in larger shopping centers. In recent years efforts have been made by concerned citizens to address this issue, but some key property owners, particularly Lake Anne Fellowship House, showed no interest.
Newspaper Column: Another Nixon is Precedential
(The Connection, 1999-01) Nicoson, William J.
Lawyers and journalists have speculated that at some early point in the Senate trial the president’s counsel will introduce a motion to dismiss the proceedings on the grounds that, if true, the articles of impeachment adopted by the House fail to state an impeachable offense. Senators of both parties might find this a convenient means of ending an unpopular trial. If all 45 Senate Democrats vote to dismiss, only 6 Republicans need join them to prevail.
Newspaper Column: The WETA-DNC Partnership
(The Connection, 1999-07) Nicoson, William J.
WETA, our most illustrious public television station, has admitted publicly that for years it has exchanged donor lists with the Democratic National Committee, thus enhancing the fund-raising capacities of both organizations. What’s more, The Washington Times last Friday quoted WETA spokesperson Mary Stewart to the effect that this policy “has not been a problem for us”, and will be reevaluated only if it’s “a concern to people on both sides of the aisle and to our members.”
Newspaper Column: Reston's Identity on the Web
(The Connection, 1999-03) Nicoson, William J.
Designed by Digital Communities, Inc., the site known as “The Reston Web” (http://restonweb.com/) offers information on movies, other entertainment, dining, community groups, sex offenders and links to a realtor on line who’d love to help you. It sponsors a message board called “Reston Perspective Forum” where you can post a new discussion topic or join an ongoing discussion. You can trade views on the merits of restaurants and health clubs, debate the expansion of St. John Neumann or lash out at the serial rapist.
Newspaper Column: Lower Taxes! Better Teachers!
(Reston Times, 2002-01) Nicoson, William J.
Since the creation of government, the people governed have always sought to pay less in taxes for more in public services. And those democratically elected as governors of the people have sought to give the people what they wanted in order to be reelected. It takes a hero among statesmen to identify a principal service demanded by the people – say, education; then reason that better teachers will improve education, and better salaries will bring better teachers; concluding that the people should pay more taxes to government in order that government may pay higher salaries to teachers.
Newspaper Column: Voting Against Candidates
(Reston Times, 2004-05) Nicoson, William J.
Heading into a hot summer of presidential politics, I have to admit I’m not proud of my voting record. I always seem to be voting against, not for, a candidate.
Newspaper Column: The Battle Over Voter ID
(The Connection, 1999-10) Nicoson, William J.
When you go to the polls to vote on November 2 , bring an identification card with you. Your nd driver’s license or social security card will do. What? You say that’s asking too much? You say you’ll just stay home? That’s exactly what the Virginia Democratic Party says will happen. The Democrats have brought a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the recently enacted voter-ID pilot program for polling stations in Fairfax County and 9 other localities.
Newspaper Column: Reston's Statehouse Clout
(The Connection, 1998-09) Nicoson, William J.
Last week the Northern Virginia Technology Council honored Senator Howell with a Lifetime Achievement Award, the first it has ever bestowed. She co-chairs two committees of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (composed of both Senators and Delegates), the first charged with formulating a Blueprint for Technology-Based Economic Growth in Virginia, and the second with resolving the prospective year-2000 meltdown. In short, she’s not only responsible for attracting technology companies to the state but keeping them healthy after they get here.
Newspaper Column: Partisanship and Governance
(The Connection, 2000-02) Nicoson, William J.
The Virginia legislative races last year were fiercely contested on a partisan basis, because control of both houses of the General Assembly was at stake. The Republicans won a narrow margin in both houses for the first time since Reconstruction. There was fear that the Grand Old Party would enforce party discipline on all matters of consequence, and remake the legislative fabric of the state. In the current legislative session, the good news is that legislators appear to be influenced far more by local constituencies and personal conscience than by party politics.
Newspaper Column: U.V.A. Comes to Reston
(The Connection, 1999-12) Nicoson, William J.
Reston’s high-tech profile in the burgeoning economic growth of the Tysons-Dulles corridor has been spotted by the University of Virginia. Last week representatives of U.VA.’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration visited Reston in search of office space for an outpost of its Batten Institute to serve as liaison with businesses in the corridor which prize innovative and entrepreneurial skills.
Newspaper Column: Turning Out Voters
(The Connection, 2000-02) Nicoson, William J.
In last year’s election for Reston Association directors, 24,676 ballots were mailed to RA members of which 4,576 were returned, or about 18.5%. The issues facing the RA board then and now have never been more critical to the lifestyle of Reston residents. On the expense side, many of RA’s recreational facilities are reaching the end of their useful lives; the growth explosion in the area has multiplied non-permeable surfaces at a scale disastrous to our ecology; and RA faces a massive rent increase when its current headquarters lease expires in a few years. On the income side, residential build-out has ended the revenue stream from new RA units; and RA’s assessment, in the absence of user fees, is approaching an arbitrary ceiling established when operating costs of recreational facilities were largely borne by user fees and has already hit another ceiling established for apartment buildings.
Newspaper Column: Hikers and Bikers Rejoice
(The Connection, 2000-01) Nicoson, William J.
The County Board of Supervisors on January 10 approved a plan for a Cross County Trail of 31.5 miles from Great Falls in the north to Alban Road in the south passing through all nine magisterial districts and utilizing 26.7 miles of existing paths. The trail enters the southeast corner of Reston, crosses Twin Branch Road and turns south crossing Lawyers Road. Existing pathways of the Reston Association (RA) in the area are proposed to be incorporated into the Cross County Trail.
Newspaper Column: Cartoon Complacency
(The Connection, 1996-02) Nicoson, Richard
In Jeff Stahler’s cartoon published by The Cincinnati Post and reprinted February 25th by The New York Times, Bill Clinton sits at his desk reading a paper with the headline, “GOP IDENTITY CRISIS”. The cartoon is entitled “ARE YOU BETTER OFF THAN YOU WERE FOUR YEARS AGO?” and Clinton’s word-balloon cries “YEP!” It’s possible that some cartoonists and editors really believe that President Clinton believes he’s better off now than he was four years ago. But it’s a view difficult to reconcile with the facts. After all, whatever else Bill Clinton may be, he’s smart.