Deborah Simmons

School shootings, violence relay silenced message

Mark President Trump's words. He laid out a new goal in the ongoing debate about gun violence. Published February 15, 2018

D.C. ‘fair’ elections bill is unfair

There is something called free speech that is being stifled in the call for "fair" elections. Published February 14, 2018

Fund DCTAG with Washington, D.C., money, Mayor Muriel Bowser

When news broke Monday that some D.C. officials cried foul because President Trump's budget proposes cutting federal funding of a special college tuition program, I took it personally. Published February 13, 2018

Donald Trump budget goes for broke

President Trump's fiscal 2019 budget forces hard choices on many Americans. Published February 12, 2018

Raise the education bar in D.C.

There is a new stream of red tape in D.C. education: the Office of Raising the Bar and Lowering the Standards. Published February 8, 2018

Chelsea Manning takes on Ben Cardin

Ben Cardin, the Maryland Democrat who announced Monday that he's seeking a third term in the Senate, can't touch Chelsea Manning's coming out party. Published February 5, 2018

Super Bowl LII guide

The Super Bowl ain't what it used to be with more viewers tuning out each year, but this year's game is at least quasi-symbolic with the majestic eagle, America's national emblem, up against iconic foot soldiers, America's patriots. Published February 1, 2018

D.C. teachers, administrators run amok

The official audit for D.C. Public Schools: All but two of 19 DCPS high schools violated policies that led to seniors receiving diplomas they had not earned. Published January 30, 2018

State of the Union in song and prayer

On Thursday, comes an annual Washington tradition: the National Prayer Breakfast. It's an event where men and women of the clergy, politicians and others break bread at the Washington Hilton. Published January 29, 2018

The race for infrastructure jobs

The smart people of the District may be onto something. At the start of the 2017-2018 school year, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, announced a new public-partnership, the DC Infrastructure Academy, a program pegged to plug people into demanding jobs. Published January 25, 2018

U.S. Conference of Mayors gives Donald Trump the middle finger

The mayors of America's cities small and large are holding a confab just two blocks from the White House but won't enter its gates because the Justice Department wants them to fill out some forms. Published January 24, 2018

Congressional Black Caucus could turn history again

There's not much ado about President's Trump's State of the Union address right now, but there will be. Some members of Congress are considering boycotting his Jan. 30 speech. Published January 22, 2018

Amazon HQ2 pros and cons

Amazon has narrowed its long list of 238 potential sites for its second headquarters (HQ2) to a long short list of 20, and at first blush it appears as though an East Coast presence is a prime (get it?) destination in Amazon's future. Published January 18, 2018

Metro’s dead zones must be killed

Metro must kill the dead zones, because the transit agency clearly is jammed between a ROCC and a hard place. ROCC stands for Metro's Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC), and it's the center's job to speak by radio with train operators and workers, firefighters and other first responders when something goes awry. Published January 17, 2018

Reclaim the mantle: It takes a village

Here we are again with nightmarish news of children being abused and neglected. A few such stories follow, including one of four dead sisters. Published January 16, 2018

Immigration temporary protective status-Salvadoran debate

An estimated 10,000 D.C. residents of Salvadoran descent are likely becoming news watchers now that the State Department has warned Americans against traveling to the Central American country and the Trump administration has told them they have until September 2019 to get their immigration papers in order or be shipped out. Published January 15, 2018

Campaign finance reform foolishness

You can fool all the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. Published January 11, 2018

Kids should know to ‘just say no’ to sexting

A new study published in Northwestern University's journal of Sexuality Research and Social Policy warns that girls and teens are struggling to resist a temptation that even grown folk can't seem to muster the nerve to conquer. Published January 1, 2018

When government clashes with good Samaritans, homeless are hurt

Some good Samaritans in Orange County, California, saw 400 or so folk in a homeless encampment and they offered food. Critics claim their gestures are compounding an already complex problem. Published December 28, 2017

Students now teach school safety lessons

If you consider the violence of today, you have to wonder. Has the culture of school-related crime shifted, or have the purveyors of violence outwitted the adults? Published December 25, 2017