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Deborah Simmons

dsimmons@washingtontimes.com

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

Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, left, commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, departs a news conference with District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser at a temporary alternate care site constructed in response to the coronavirus outbreak inside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, Monday, May 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) **FILE**

The geese laying tarnished COVID-19 golden eggs in D.C.

A Democrat, Miss Bowser and the duly elected members of her legislative counterparts are in the throes of a major crisis, trying to balance spending priorities and declining revenues against the onerous realities of COVID-19.

May 18, 2020
In this March 3, 2020, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a primary election night campaign rally in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File) **fiLE**

Inside the Beltway during the coronavirus pandemic

Having already failed to impeach President Trump, Beat Trumpers devised another strategy: Unify to counter Mr. Trump's COVID-19 efforts, turn on the spigots labeled federal, state and local dollars, and coalesce state and local leaders to beg for tax dollars as if their lives -- and the lives of their families and constituents -- depended on it.

May 14, 2020
A child peeks through the window of a vehicle while in line Tuesday, April 21, 2020, for Brownsville Independent School District's meal distribution at Rivera Early College High School in Brownsville, Texas, during the coronavirus outbreak. Parents are required to have their children in their vehicles in order to receive meals from the school district. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald via AP) **FILE**

Coronavirus exposes failure of one-size-fits-all education policies

As governors and mayors continue cracking their COVID-19 whips, parents and other citizens are pleading "give us free. They're talking about their jobs, public schools, libraries, beaches and recreational programs, and their liberties. They're also learning, learning the hard way, that one-size-fits-all policies and practices continue to fail.

May 4, 2020
This image released by Fox shows host Nick Cannon, left, with Lil Wayne in the third season premiere of "The Masked Singer," which aired on Sunday after the Super Bowl. The special edition of the show, with Lil' Wayne as the mystery guest, had its biggest audience ever Sunday when 23.7 million people watched it, the Nielsen company said. (Greg Gayne/FOX via AP) **FILE**

Dishonest masked singers of 2020

If you've never watched the musical game show "The Masked Singer," check it out. It's as unprecedented as our response to COVID-19 -- except it's funny, and we can all benefit from strong doses of humor these days.

April 30, 2020
In this file photo, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks about the District's coronavirus response at a news conference, Tuesday, March 31, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) ** FILE **

Best D.C. defense against the coronavirus

The best defense against COVID-19 is, well, a great offense. Until Thursday, the Bowser administration was seemingly moving in that direction, giving the media and public lengthy daily briefings on how the nation's capital is positioned to take on the coronavirus.

April 23, 2020
Maryland first lady Yumi Hogan stands at a news conference at the governor's residence on Monday, April 20, 2020 in Annapolis, Md., where her husband, Gov. Larry Hogan announced she helped negotiations that led to a company in South Korea to send a shipment to boost the state's ability to conduct tests for COVID-19 by 500,000. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

South Korea proves where there’s a will, there’s a way

A huge thank you is due to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and his wife, Yumi. Thanks to them, South Korea jetted 500,000 coronavirus tests to the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Sunday.

April 20, 2020
In this Nov. 6, 2018, file photo, voters cast their ballots, in Gates Mills, Ohio. An Associated Press review has found that thousands of Ohio voters were held up or stymied in their efforts to get absentee ballots by mail in 2018's general election because of a missing or mismatched signature on their ballot application. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File) **FILE**

Will every vote count and be counted?

There are two questions, at the very least, that voters must consider before they vote: Who are the candidates and will every vote be counted?

April 16, 2020
In a Jan. 15, 2020 photo, Cindy Zielaskiewicz preps 96 quarts of chicken & rice soup for the free lunch served every Thursday at the Samaritan's Table at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Canton. (Ray Stewart/The Canton Repository via AP) **FILE**

Chicken soup elixir for coronavirus

Know what we need? What is the global citizenry really calling out for? Chicken soup for all our souls -- the elixir for thousands and thousands of years. From colds and flus to innumerable discomforts and the blues, chicken soup has been "prescribed" as a comfort food and a cure all.

April 13, 2020
A family, wearing masks due to the virus outbreak, carry drinks as they walk through the empty streets of the village of Exeter, N.H., Thursday, April 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Words matter in fight against coronavirus

Here we are, amending our liberties and those of our children, while others put us at risk by trashing parking lots and sidewalks with disposable gloves and face covering. We've even added three new words to our daily lexicon to go along with our new fashion statements, personal protection equipment, which we've dubbed PPE for short.

April 9, 2020
Lamar Elementary School principal Erin Honeycutt sets up a "Zoom" class for first through fifth graders to learn art from Holly Triplett in Meridian, Miss., Tuesday, March 24, 2020. The COVID-19 and coronavirus has forced area schools to close and use technology for online teaching and learning. At this time Lamar is closed until April 13th and will then re-evaluate as to continue their closure. (Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star via AP) **FILE**

Zoom in on Zoom and online security, parents

Do not assume. Do not assume.Never assume your children are safe while online. The warning is particularly dire as school systems across the country are closed because of COVID-19 and utilize Zoom and other online video-conferencing apps for distance learning.

April 6, 2020
This Monday, March 30, 2020, booking photo provided by the Hernando County Jail shows Rodney Howard-Browne, pastor of The River Church. Florida officials arrested the pastor of the megachurch after detectives say he held two Sunday services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus. According to jail records, Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne turned himself in to authorities Monday, March 30, 2020, in Hernando County, Fla. (Hernando County Jail via AP) **FILE***

Don’t let coronavirus pivot squander liberty

That our civil liberties are in a noose is truly dismaying, although it was bound to happen because some yo-yos don't follow the rules, as we saw during spring break.

March 31, 2020
This Aug. 2, 2018, file photo shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration building behind FDA logos at a bus stop on the agency's campus in Silver Spring, Md. U.S. regulators warned several companies to stop selling soaps, sprays and other concoctions with false claims that they can treat the new coronavirus or keep people from catching it. The warnings were emailed Friday, March 6, 2020, to companies based in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. and were announced Monday. Nearly all the targeted companies had complied by Monday morning, with mentions of the virus or products to treat it taken off their websites. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) **FILE**

Coronavirus scammers, fraudsters put on notice

The FTC and FDA warning letters followed shots across the nonpartisan bow at Attorney General Bill Barr from the lobby group Consumer Brands Association, which urged the Justice Department to stop retailers from jacking up the prices for hand sanitizer, masks and other products essential to the battle against the coronavirus.

March 9, 2020
Ward Six Councilmember Charles Allen speaks during the District of Columbia Inauguration ceremony at the Convention Center in Washington, Friday, Jan. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) **FILE**

Charles Allen, D.C. lawmaker, one-ups Bernie Sanders, other socialists

D.C. Council member Charles Allen on Tuesday plans to mitigate the problem with his Metro for DC Amendment Act 2020. Its goal is to get more motorists off the roads by putting their butts in seats on Metrobus and Metrorail with $100 in free rides every month. Now, this might be construed as a novel approach, but it is not. Free mass transit is a trend, and trends like free love, free sex and Medicare for All always come with a price tag.

March 2, 2020