Deborah Simmons

‘No cellphone’ sidewalk pops up in D.C.

An award-winning company based in the U.K. attempted to pull off a kind of "monkey see, monkey do" project in busy downtown D.C. on Thursday. Published July 17, 2014

SIMMONS: Archie Andrews saves the gay

Say it isn't so. We are told that Archie Andrews, the freckled teen of Riverdale who was "born" in 1941, meets his demise on Wednesday — mortally wounded but saving the life of his gay friend, a married veteran. Published July 15, 2014

SIMMONS: Surprise! Schools kick out toddlers

A seminal study of D.C.'s public schools in the late 1990s concluded that the longer a child stayed in the system, the worse off he became. Published July 14, 2014

SIMMONS: Political rebranding, new and shiny

The Republican Party, conservatives and even moderates were all atwitter in 2012 after Barack Obama learned he wouldn't have to fill out a change-of-address form: Published July 10, 2014

SIMMONS: Immigration border crossings are a setup

The illegal immigration crisis isn't going away anytime soon, even if President Obama gets his wish and gets his hands on an additional $2 billion to stem the crisis. The crisis, we're told, started back in others' homelands, and that is where it must be abated. Published July 7, 2014

SIMMONS: A hearty Happy Birthday, D.C.-style!

Dear Mr. Mayor: Quicker than the words "No Taxation Without Representation" can roll off the tongue, a new mayor will be sworn in to take your place in the nation's capital. Published July 7, 2014

SIMMONS: Lame duck D.C. mayor quacks up

Now a lame duck, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray is going back to the drawing board with various projects in the poorest of the District's eight wards where jobs, financial insecurity and poor-quality schools are the norm. Published June 30, 2014

SIMMONS: Washington’s witty ‘Ear’

Diana McLellan died Wednesday. Most Washingtonians did not know her by name, and to many of those who did, she was simply "The Ear," the writer extraordinaire who gave respect to what otherwise would have been tagged as tabloid journalism or yellow journalism. Published June 26, 2014

SIMMONS: Sticks, stones, ‘Skins

On Monday, President Obama tiptoed again where the springtime tulips used to bloom, laying out his executive prescription plan for working parents that takes the pressure off mommies to make the tough calls. Published June 23, 2014

SIMMONS: Border children reflect new nanny state

What in hell is going to happen to the children? The media were escorted in, and by now you've seen the pictures and read the stories about the border children — the thousands of young people who are pouring across our southern border. Published June 19, 2014

SIMMONS: Deconstruction of reconstruction in Barry Farm in D.C.

They plan to raise the roof off Barry Farm, the huge public housing complex that's seen high-flyin' NBA stars such as Kevin Durant and Gilbert Arenas take center stage on their neighborhood court. There was such hope. Published June 17, 2014

SIMMONS: With Cantor leaving, don’t give up on school choice

There are so many reasons soon-to-be-former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost in Virginia's Republican primary on Tuesday that it's impossible to list them all in this space. So, in the interests of time and space, suffice it to say voters decided to kick him to the curb. Published June 12, 2014