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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

In this April 11, 2018, file photo, a high school student uses a vaping device near a school campus in Cambridge, Mass. California Gov. Gavin Newsom will announce an executive action Monday, Sept. 16, 2019, to confront youth heath concerns related to vaping. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) **FILE**

Vaping the new crack cocaine?

Remember the push for the V chip? The TV technology that helped parents control what their children were watching on television? Well, for young people, vaping seems to be the new crack cocaine. Published September 16, 2019

Students change classes at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington on Wednesday. (J.M. Eddins/The Washington Times)

D.C. charter school children should be the focus, not the buildings

What's equally bad is that the District is breaking both the spirit and the letter of the law when it closes a traditional public school and then forces charter schools to apply to occupy it, as if the children who would attend the school are, here again, foreigners. Published September 12, 2019

In this Aug. 5, 2017, file photo people make their way to RFK Stadium in Washington before an MLS soccer match between D.C. United and Toronto FC. The stadium, the former home of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals and Senators, and Major League Soccer’s D.C. United, will be demolished by 2021, local officials in Washington said. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) **FILE**

Washington Redskins stadium talks should resume in D.C.

RFK Stadium is headed for the graveyard. Sniff, sniff. Plans call for the aged structure to be demolished in 2021. Up 'til then, though, Dan Snyder has a decision to make, Congress has a decision to make about the site and both should place their bets on a guaranteed moneymaker -- a new home for the Washington Redskins. Published September 9, 2019

Dave Chappelle speaks at the press conference for "A Star Is Born" on day 4 of the Toronto International Film Festival at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Toronto. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) **FILE**

Dave Chapelle’s ‘Sticks & Stones,’ guns and scaredy cats

To his credit, Mr. Chappelle's standup routines about the so-called cancel culture on Netflix's "Sticks & Stones" special has a lot of eyeballs rolling. Give him and public schools a hand, because much is -- and will become -- history. Now let's be frank in the here and now. Published September 5, 2019

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019 file photo, Meek Mill performs on day four of Lollapalooza in Grant Park in Chicago. The NFL and Roc Nation announced Friday, Aug. 30, 2019, that Mill and Rapsody will perform in a free pregame concert Sept 5 before the season-opening game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. The concert is an early sign of how the league’s new social justice partnership with rapper Jay-Z and his label may work out. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

The NFL at 100

The 100th anniversary of the National Football League kicks off Thursday, and it's hoped you're not one of those fans who let the league's Kaepernick thing become and remain a cloud over your enthusiasm for football, American football. Published September 2, 2019

R. Kelly (Associated Press/File)

Jeffrey Epstein, R. Kelly and the feds

Federal authorities shouldn't be alarmed, but they should be mindful following the probe into the Jeffrey Epstein death case: R&B crooner R. Kelly isn't doing too well. Published August 15, 2019

Congressman Elijah Cummings walks to his car after speaking about Baltimore at the grand opening of the McCullough Street Nature Play Space in West Baltimore on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019. Cummings on Saturday invited President Donald Trump and other Americans to Baltimore, taking the high road after a barrage of presidential tweets disparaging the black-majority city and its long-serving Democratic congressman. (Kim Hairston /The Baltimore Sun via AP) **FILE**

Threading the Baltimore needle

Politicians and community members determined to "fix" Baltimore need to be mindful of that trick of the trade because Charm City could become a model example. In short, what happens next in Baltimore mustn't stay in Baltimore, which means it's time. Published August 5, 2019

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., participates in the first of two Democratic presidential primary debates hosted by CNN Tuesday, July 30, 2019, in the Fox Theatre in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) **FILE**

Elizabeth Warren and where she stands on public education

The senior senator from Massachusetts doesn't have much to say for herself, considering she teaches law school and kicks the costs of the can labeled "Forgive Them Their College Debt" down the road ... way down the road. Published August 1, 2019

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser pauses during a news conference at One Judiciary Square in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Muriel Bowser’s anti-gun plan a complex gambit

Well, moms, dads and sweeties everywhere, there are signs that a new D.C. sheriff is in town, and her name is Muriel Bowser, but the name on her badge is "Sheriff Snitch." That's right, snitching of gun owners will become as vogue-ish as hashtags if Mayor Bowser turns her passion to rid the city of illegal guns into a reasonable policy. Published July 22, 2019

D.C. Council member Jack Evans, Ward 2 Democrat, said privatization of the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act would drastically cut costs. (The Washington Times/File) **FILE**

Democrats should sign on to Evans probe on Capitol Hill

Top Republicans on the House Oversight Committee want to know what the Metro board knew about the ethics investigation into former Chairman Jack Evans, when did they know it, and how did they learn it. Published July 16, 2019

In this July 31, 2018 photo, "back to school" signage hangs in a store in Methuen, Mass. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola) *FILE**

Hard money questions as school days approach

How much will you spend on supplies and clothing for your child to begin the 2019-20 school year? The anticipated bill for parents is now $519 per child in K-12, according to a Deloitte survey of 1,200 households with at least one kid in school. Got more than one child? Well, you do the math. Published July 11, 2019

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks at a news conference with Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to call for legislation to cancel all student debt, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, June 24, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ** FILE **

What to do when the D.C. swamp overflows

It's only early July, and there are no clear signs that a hurricane bearing down on the mid-Atlantic region is imminent. That's good news that brings a question about things that might come: What happens when the D.C. swamp overflows? Published July 8, 2019