Deborah Simmons
Articles by Deborah Simmons
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Maryland free-range parents deserve a break
Here's what happens when nebby noses poke where they don't belong. A mom and dad in one of America's wealthiest counties are being overscrutinized and threatened with legal action for allowing their children to do what parents have been allowing, indeed encouraging, children to do for generations. Published April 13, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Hillary indulged in mocha mousse cake after giving Bill just desserts
Not every woman gets to have her cake and eat it, too. Hillary Rodham Clinton is a new breed. She roared. Published April 6, 2015
Beatrice Stevenson Patillo, former D.C. employee, 71
Beatrice Stevenson Patillo, a former employee of the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, died peacefully March 30, 2015, at her home in North Carolina. She was 71. Published April 6, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Easter, Passover, Martin Luther King — Jews and gentiles together
You know I can't resist saying something about D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's inaugural spending plan that she released Thursday, but first I want to wax on about the fact that Passover, Easter and the anniversary of the King assassination converge this weekend. Published April 2, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Religious liberty: 5 things you should know
The Indiana law, which was fashioned on the federal version, is being called anti-gay and discriminatory against gays, and it has drawn heckles from the likes of NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, ESPN mouth-man Keith Olbermann and former "Star Trek" actor George Takei. The mayor of Seattle wants to prohibit city workers from traveling to Indiana. In light of that and more, here are five things about religion and gay rights that you need to know: Published March 30, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Harry Reid’s war against women
Hi, guys. Today's column speaks directly to the gals about the 2016 races for U.S. Senate seats. Published March 26, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: D.C. needs Title IX accountability from leaders, schools
D.C. has had to comply with the federal Title IX law, just like the states have. Unfortunately, parents were hoodwinked, and city leaders have not been forthcoming, partly because they shone the spotlight solely on academics. Published March 23, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Urban League delivers good, unsettling news
The National Urban League released on Thursday its annual report, "The State of Black America," and it contains a bit of really good news for black and Hispanic families around the Beltway. Published March 19, 2015
D.C. charter school to receive Britain’s Prince Charles
Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School in Northwest is preparing for a royal visit on Thursday. Published March 18, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Maryland, D.C., other states should be kinder, gentler to charter students
Gov. Larry Hogan is stirring up the public education troth in the state of Maryland, and well he should. Published March 16, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: D.C. streetcars take tax dollars nowhere
After already spending more than $160 million (and millions more for the study and yakkety-yak) to design and construct a street line that runs a mere 2.4 miles, city leaders could scrap the project. And that might not be a bad idea. Published March 12, 2015
Marriage and family: ‘I do,’ she is and they are (mostly)
Whether you're conservative or liberal, if you want to know what the state of the American family is these days, look no further. Published March 11, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS What was Hillary Clinton thinking?
There is a possibility that Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton orchestrated her own derailment. Not that I've seen or heard anyone make such a suggestion. Published March 9, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: ‘Bloody Sunday,’ Ferguson and ‘we’ the people
Nothing like the events in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday, March 7, 1965, had ever been witnessed before nationwide. Published March 5, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Take supper, family time off school menus
Let's make supper a more common word for the right reasons. Published February 26, 2015
Phyllis Schlafly: A conservative whose cornerstones are faith, family and freedom
If there's a list of American women whose cornerstones are faith, family and freedom, the name Phyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly is on it. Published February 24, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Boys-only school, ERA fight — it’s deja vu all over again
Separating boys from girls in public schools is not the problem. The problem is distractors who want you to think otherwise. Published February 23, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Oscar, ‘Selma’ and ‘Scandal’
Hollywood turned its spotlight on America's "birth defect" with 2014's Best Film winner "12 Years a Slave." At the Oscars this Sunday, I'm inclined to suspect it will not do the same with "Selma." Published February 19, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Teachers, au pairs, others need measles shots, too
Parents of babies and young children already know: Germs that float in the classroom don't stay in the classroom. And that's especially the case with viral infections such as the flu, measles, mumps, chicken pox and the like. Published February 16, 2015
DEBORAH SIMMONS: Why and how to save the Dorothy Height charter school
The D.C. Public Charter School Board was scheduled Thursday morning to vote on whether to revoke the charter of the Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter School. The board met but decided to delay its vote until a Feb. 19 meeting. Published February 12, 2015
