Deborah Simmons | Stories - Washington Times
Skip to content

Trending

Get all your state-by-state election news and polls here

TRENDING:
donald trump

Deborah Simmons

Deborah Simmons

Award-winning opinion writer Deborah Simmons is a senior correspondent who reports on City Hall and writes about education, culture, sports and family-related topics. Mrs. Simmons has worked at several newspapers, and since joining The Washington Times in 1985, has served as editorial-page editor and features editor and on the metro desk. She has taught copy editing at the University of Maryland at College Park.

An occasional panelist on Roland Martin's “Washington Watch” and Denise Rolark Barnes' “Let's Talk” weekly news analysis cable-TV programs, Mrs. Simmons has also appeared on BET's “Lead Story,” “Real Time with Bill Maher” and Mr. Maher's “Politically Incorrect,” “America's Black Forum,” Fox News' “The O'Reilly Factor,” “The Right Side with Armstrong Williams,” C-SPAN's “Washington Journal,” and “This is America with Dennis Wholey.” She also has been a guest radio commentator on NPR, WAMU, WMAL and WOL.

Mrs. Simmons attended the University of the District of Columbia and Trinity College. She and her husband, who live in Washington, have four children and two grandchildren. Contact Mrs. Simmons at [email protected].

 

Articles by Deborah Simmons

Deborah Simmons

Ben jealous of Larry Hogan's politics

The Democrats think they are going to reclaim the governorship of Maryland. However, at this juncture they need more than Ben Jealous. Published October 18, 2018

FILE - In this April 29, 2017, file photo, demonstrators sit on the ground along Pennsylvania Ave. in front of the White House in Washington. The National Park Service is exploring the question of whether it should recoup from protest organizers the cost of providing law enforcement and other support services for demonstrations held in the nation's capital. The proposed rule also could place new limits on spontaneous demonstrations and shrink a significant portion of the White House sidewalk accessible to the public. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Shame on ACLU's Arthur Spitzer

The National Park Service (NPS) is considering changing how it processes applications for marches in Washington. Published October 15, 2018

Deborah Simmons

Metro's bagel and lox, black coffee

Metro authorities are considering allowing vendors to sell food and beverages at stations is a bit concerning. Moreover, as a frequent rider pointed out Thursday, nowhere in Metro's proposal does it say that passengers will be allowed to "consume" food or beverages in the stations or on trains. Published October 11, 2018

Deborah Simmons

D.C. Republicans don't like D.C. Republicans

The nation's capital has been breeding progressive voters for so long that when real Republicans turn up on a ballot, social and fiscal conservatives think RINO and Democrats look for candidates who are designated by a "D" or "independent." Published October 8, 2018

Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous speaks with reporters after participating in a debate with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, at Maryland Public Television's studios in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Obama endorses Bernie Sanders' shadow

It's easy to become so distracted by what's going in the swamp until you can't control your breathing or appreciate what's going on in your own hometown or state, huffing and puffing as you read the reaction to the reaction of the news of the day. Huddled masses who dare not yearn to breathe free. Published October 4, 2018

Deborah Simmons

The geoeconomics of D.C. education

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? Published October 1, 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks during the Office of Justice Programs' National Institute of Justice Opioid Research Summit in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

D.C. needs jolt from Jeff Sessions

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." Published September 25, 2018

Deborah Simmons

Fire alarms: Do ours work?

You could still smell the evidence Thursday morning of what happens when fire alarms do not work. Published September 20, 2018

Deborah Simmons

Potty training 101

Potty training is the saving grace. Unless, that is, the person is a D.C. lawmaker and proposes wasting resources on a task force to study the availability of "safe" public and private restrooms in the District. Published September 17, 2018

Deborah Simmons

The D.C. tipped-wage initiative

The initiative, approved 55 percent to 45 percent by voters nearly three months ago, calls for the city to mandate that the D.C. minimum wage is applied to all hourly workers, including waitresses, barkeeps and table bussers. Published September 13, 2018

This photo provided by NASA shows Hurricane Florence from the International Space Station on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, as it threatens the U.S. East Coast. Forecasters said Florence could become an extremely dangerous major hurricane sometime Monday and remain that way for days. (NASA via AP)

Hurricane Florence preparations

Ladies rule. Hurricane Florence is projected to do what Tropical Storm Gordon did not when he rolled onto the Gulf Coast last week. Published September 10, 2018

Cigarettes are displayed on a shelf, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in New York. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign legislation raising the legal minimum price for a pack of cigarettes to $13. The hike from $10.50 further cements the city's claim on having among the most expensive cigarettes in the country. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Federal government giveth, D.C. government taketh away

Wouldn't you know? Just as low-income and middle-class residents began breathing the slightest sighs of relief thanks to federal tax cuts, the District's progressive pickpockets are raising taxes. Published September 6, 2018

Deborah Simmons

Donna Brazile has something to teach the GOP

A true strategist, she spent decades inside and alongside the Democratic Party, and Miss Brazile took the reins of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as the battle for the White House heated up in the summer of 2016, when the burning question was, can Hillary Clinton take out Donald Trump, or will Donald Trump take out Hillary Clinton? Published September 3, 2018

File- This July 31, 2018, file photo shows Washington Redskins defensive back Josh Norman (24) covering wide receiver Paul Richardson (10) during the morning session at NFL football training camp in Richmond, Va. Norman is going into the third year of a $75 million contract with just three interceptions for the Redskins and none last season. His abilities as a cover cornerback are unquestioned and mean he gets fewer opportunities, but Norman also dropped a handful of potential interceptions in 2017 and is being counted on, and paid, to make that kind of a difference in a young secondary. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Bring the Redskins home

The D.C. government is working on plans to get rid of the biggest elephant under the city's redevelopment tent and return the Washington Redskins to the nation's capital. Published August 30, 2018

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, joined by from left, District of Columbia Police Chief Peter Newsham, District of Columbia Council member Charles Allen, District of Columbia Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, speaks at One Judiciary Square in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. District of Columbia officials say they won't appeal a court ruling against a strict city gun law, setting the stage for it to become easier for gun owners to get concealed carry permits in the city. City officials announced their decision not to take the case to the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) **FILE**

What does Mayor Bowser want for Miranda Bowser?

Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted a most intriguing question on Monday: "What qualities do want in your @dcpublicschools Chancellor? Let us know at tomorrow's @OurSchoolsDC Chancellor Search Engagement Forum." Published August 27, 2018

Deborah Simmons

Back-to-school blues

The first day of the 2018-19 school year in Prince George's County isn't until Sept. 4, and for parents, there's good news and bad news. Published August 16, 2018

The Most Rev. Ronald Gainer, the Roman Catholic bishop of the diocese of Harrisburg, Pa., discusses child sexual abuse by clergy and a decision by the diocese to remove names of bishops going back to the 1940s after concluding they did not respond adequately to abuse allegations, during a Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, news conference in Harrisburg, Pa. The bishop apologized to victims and said the diocese is posting an online list of 71 priests and others in the church accused of the abuse. Following the Erie, Pa., diocese, the Harrisburg diocese is the second Pennsylvania diocese to get ahead of a roughly 900-page grand jury report that could be made public in August 2018, which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said found more than 300 "predator priests" in six of the state's eight dioceses. (AP Photo/Mark Scolforo)

The Roman Catholic Church is in trouble

"We are sick over all the crimes that will go unpunished and uncompensated," the Pennsylvania grand jurors wrote. "This report is our only recourse." Published August 15, 2018

Deborah Simmons

Who's minding NCAA student-athletes?

It's darn near impossible for a college or university head coach to know what his coaches and players are up to 24/7. That hardly offers a break, however, to University of Maryland football coach DJ Durkin. Published August 13, 2018