Deborah Simmons

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.

September 16, 2019

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.

September 12, 2019

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.

September 9, 2019

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.

September 5, 2019

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.

September 2, 2019

D.C. politicians need to step aside until rowhouse fire probe is done

There's much to unpack in this deadly case beyond who knew about 708 Kennedy and why nothing was done until tragedy struck.

August 29, 2019

The Congressional Black Caucus is not black America’s BFF

Does black America have a BFF?

August 26, 2019

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.

August 15, 2019

Senate’s rejection of SAFE Act may be blessing in disguise

The Senate's inaction could be a blessing in disguise, because it uncovered why Democrats and liberals are having a field day taking Republicans and conservatives to the wood shed as anti-democratic.

August 12, 2019

Student safety must be on back-to-school lists

Can we talk about the non-tangibles? Specifically, the school district's checklist. Is school safety on yours and theirs? It should be.

August 8, 2019

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.

August 5, 2019

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.

August 1, 2019

Trump’s smoke-and-mirrors act shines spotlight on inner-city troubles

Channeling fellow native New Yorker Jimmy Breslin, Mr. Trump created quite a show of smoke and mirrors by characterizing Baltimore as a city of "rats and rodents."

July 29, 2019

Wes Pruden: Editor, mentor, genteel man

Wes Pruden so reminded me of my late dad, Arnold P. Simmons, who was 20 years his elder.

July 25, 2019

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.

July 22, 2019

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.

July 16, 2019

Mayor Muriel Bowser offers help against the measles menace — sort of

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that the city will be offering free measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations at clinics and doctors' offices in all eight of the city's wards.

July 15, 2019

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.

July 11, 2019

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?

July 8, 2019

Maryland slams Metro’s ‘black hole,’ ‘obfuscation’

The governor of Maryland, who's responsible for pouring his state's share of Metro funding into mass transit coffers, has made an offer Metro officials and regional leaders can't afford to refuse.

July 4, 2019