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Deborah Simmons

Deborah Simmons was a senior correspondent who reported on City Hall and wrote about education, culture, sports and family-related topics.

Articles by Deborah Simmons

DEBORAH SIMMONS: Charter school kids draw short funding straw

The D.C. parents of an estimated 39,000 children exercised their right to choose which schools their children would attend this school year, and they chose public charter schools. In fact, there is only a 9,000-student difference. Published May 18, 2016

DEBORAH SIMMONS: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser: Handmaiden of the week

Muriel Bowser is no Donald Trump, whose opinion pass his lips sometimes with nary a filtered thought. Neither is she Hillary Clinton, although like a loyal Democrat, she announced her endorsement of her party sister, as did the majority of D.C. lawmakers. We have a ways to go before we learn whether Miss Bowser's words will hit and stick, but she isn't having a great time as we head into midweek. Published May 17, 2016

Patrons crowd the L'Enfant Metro station in the early morning on inauguration day on the National Mall in Washington D.C., Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (Allison Shelley / The Washington Times)

DEBORAH SIMMONS: Metro has a culture problem

Sooooo! Metro and other regional leaders are slated to spill the beans Friday and explain to taxpayers how they plan to tackle the many problems derailing our major transit system. Published May 5, 2016

DEBORAH SIMMONS: Tiny house innovation, tiny house blunders

The homeless. Veterans. Millennials and their parents. Seniors. People in need of assisted living. Boomers. Downsizers. Folks who simply can no longer afford McMansions. Folks who merely want small homes. Folks who have made up their minds not to be house-poor. Published May 4, 2016

DEBORAH SIMMONS: Standardized testing, testing … 1, 2, 3

NAEP tested seniors in 740 high schools, including private ones. In short: Fourth-graders aren't ready for middle school, middle schoolers aren't ready for high school, and high school seniors aren't ready for college or the workforce. Published May 2, 2016

President Obama visits Mooresville Middle School in North Carolina. (Official White House Photo/File)

DEBORAH SIMMONS: D.C. school vouchers hit wall with Obama

President Obama does not like programs that allow public funds to be used for vouchers for school-age kids. He supports public funds for college-age students. He supports public funds for prison schooling and for returning citizens. He supports public funds for military basic training, where young men and women learn academic and managerial-type skills -- and partake in a physical education program -- that they never learned in K-12. Published April 26, 2016

In this July 9, 2009, file photo, then-Councilman Marion Barry, former mayor of D.C., speaks at a news conference about his arrest in Washington, D.C. Barry, who staged a comeback after a 1990 crack cocaine arrest, died early Sunday morning Nov. 23, 2014. He was 78. (AP Photo/Stephen J Boitano, File)

DEBORAH SIMMONS: Summer jobs: A Marion Barry legacy

Every year about this time, my mind wanders to Marion Barry, the Democratic whiz kid who calculatingly took our national capital by storm during the height of the inner-city movement and molded it into an urban mecca. Published April 25, 2016

DEBORAH SIMMONS: Washington D.C. goes to pot

As you well know, the District stands among the many states and territories that have legalized pot, approved of its use as a medical drug and/or decriminalized it altogether. California stands as the first state to make one of those moves, and not to be outdone, D.C. is scheduled to stake its claim as host to the inaugural pot festival. Published April 21, 2016

A bill is before Congress to once again take up the issue of statehood for the District of Columbia. (Nancy Pastor/The Washington Times) **FILE**

DEBORAH SIMMONS: Another D.C. statehood ‘push’

Here we go again. It seems as though every time there's a change of the guardians at the gates of D.C. governance, elected leaders make a renewed "push" for statehood. Published April 20, 2016

DEBORAH SIMMONS: Sprawl, crawl and real life in the DMV

If the local officials of Virginia, Maryland and the District want to know what issue is at the very top of their constituents' transportation wish list, they need look no further or guess any longer. A new survey says residents in the D.C. region want Metro to focus on maintenance and reliability -- not expansion. They also said that transportation is the area's greatest challenge, and that reducing traffic congestion and delays is numero uno. Improving roads, bridges and transit facilities came in second place. Published April 18, 2016

Illustration on Metrorail overspending by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

LIFE AS IT HAPPENS: Sprawl, crawl and real life

A new survey of residents in the D.C. region want Metro to focus on maintenance and reliability instead of expansion, think transportation is the area's greatest challenge, and say that of those challenges reducing traffic congestion and delays in numero uno. Improving roads, bridges and transit facilities came in second place. Published April 18, 2016