Opinion

The Oct. 4 Metro article “Report lays out answers to Metro’s problems” referenced a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority planning staff analysis that concluded that service reductions are a principal cause of the decline, and…

TaQuan Pinkney was a determined, positive young man who was getting ready to start college. Though he did everything he could to steer clear of violence, he could not escape the reality of his Ward 8 neighborhood and circumstances far out…

On the day that Christine Blasey Ford described her alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh and testified about his “uproarious laughter,” Jessica Raven was compelled to step up in a way she’d never expected. At…

Among Karl A. Racine’s duties as the District’s attorney general, prosecuting crimes committed by juveniles can be the most challenging — especially sex offenses. As we all learned after watching last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee…

America’s drug problem continues to evolve in startling and dangerous ways, and the District of Columbia remains at the forefront of those changes. Drug overdose continues to be a leading cause of death in the United States; according to…

One of the first things Vanessa Drumm-Canepa did after becoming principal of Langley Elementary in the District three years ago was redesign the school’s tiger mascot. The old tiger was a fearsome beast. Drumm-Canepa wanted the new one to…

The mayor of the non-state of nonstates and the non-state’s legislature are positioned for a tug-of-war over public schooling, and guess who’s caught in middle? Why children and parents, of course. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council …

IT SEEMS it is time for another reminder of what the District of Columbia public school system was like before mayoral control. School didn’t start on time each fall because buildings weren’t ready. Textbooks stayed stacked in warehouses…

Cyhneil Smith was tempted to stay home. She was supposed to attend a class at a vocational school that morning, but it was raining, and she didn’t have a babysitter. Her son’s father couldn’t take him because he had a job interview. Her…

A strange thing happened this summer. Initiative 77, which, in its most simplistic characterization, increased the minimum wage for tipped workers, was approved in a primary election in June. At first glance and in such a progressive city,…

Early next week, the fate of Initiative 77 will be decided, when legislation to fully repeal it will be considered. Taking away a pay raise from 29,000 workers—leaving them to make ends meet on $5 an hour plus tips—would be unfortunate,…

I am a native Washingtonian. I have lived in my Hillcrest home for more than 30 years and raised my children here. I use my Airbnb income to help ensure that I am financially stable in retirement. I appreciate the financial benefits this…

Suppose you are mayor of Washington and your public school system has just gone through a series of scandals that you fear could turn families away. Then suppose you have a chance to fill a top education spot — deputy mayor for education —…

On a 95-degree day, high risk intervention strategist (mentor) Ronnie Myers ventured to Lincoln Heights to pick up five youth, ages 13-19. He gazed across the street to see what they see on a daily basis – crime, drug deals, fancy cars…

When I worked in DC schools, I heard from families every day about what they wanted to see in our education system. Every day, I heard about the challenges and obstacles that families must overcome to make sure their child has the…

AT 10:45 P.M. last Wednesday, hours after fire broke out at a senior housing complex in Southeast Washington, a member of the company that manages the property delivered the news that all the elderly residents had been accounted for. “ ‘By…

The Washington Times reported on New Year’s Eve 2014 that “the city finished the year with 105 homicides, one more than was recorded in 2013 — a year that included 12 people killed in a mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard.” 2014 also…

District Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) is going all out with her effort to take down D.C. Council member Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) at the polls in November. It’s not going to be a pretty thing to watch. But is the mayor pouncing on…

When anything goes wrong in a city, policymakers all too often just want to move black people around, asserted Mindy Fullilove, a clinical psychiatrist at the New School, to an audience at a 2015 conference on equitable development in the…

In 2010, the District passed legislation mandating standards for physical education in schools. Unfortunately, many D.C. schools have failed to meet those standards because of time and space constraints, and the mistaken notion that time…