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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

Deborah Simmons

California wildfires strike Jacob

The face of Jacob Saylors is an eye opener, a teary eye opener for the devastation that fires can cause. Jacob lost his home in a huge blaze that happened a decade ago when it swept through Paradise, California. His family lost their home that year, 2008. Then, like a cruel, cruel joke in a place called Paradise, Jacob lost his home again this month, when wildfires swept through Paradise.

November 19, 2018
FILE - This Sept. 6, 2012, file photo, shows the Amazon logo in Santa Monica, Calif. Amazon Inc. is in "advanced talks" to open its second headquarters in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, The Washington Post reported Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018. Amazon, based in Seattle, is apparently seriously considering an area known as Crystal City. It's a large residential and office complex in Arlington, Virginia, just south of Washington, the Post said, citing unidentified sources. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

Driving a hard bargain for Amazon

It's unbelievable, but consider this premise: The commonwealth of Virginia, Arlington County and Jeff Bezos should ban motor vehicles from Amazon's future National Landing site and surrounding commercial neighbors.

November 15, 2018
Broward Supervisor of Elections Joe D'Alesandro, right, shows voting materials to campaign representatives, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, at the Broward Supervisor of Elections office in Lauderhill, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) **FILE**

Recount the voters and recount the ballots

You would think fair and free elections would be one of America's most treasured treasures, considering it's a hallmark of our democracy and we like to spread facsimiles of our democracy around the globe. Well, think again.

November 12, 2018
The Peace Cross is a memorial in Bladensburg, Maryland, which lost scores of residents in World War I. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Bladensburg Peace Cross is Veterans Day, World War I reminder

2019 will mark the 100th anniversary of the convening of the Paris Peace Conference, which formally ended World War I. And the Peace Cross is a memorial that today stands at a crossroads in Bladensburg, which lost scores of residents during the "war to end all wars."

November 8, 2018
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is also confident that Democrats will prevail in the midterm elections. "If the election were held today, the Democrats would handily win the House," she said. (Associated Press/File)

Election results: What’s topical, urgent and necessary

Americans' midterm voting opportunities, now passe, still left some issues unattended. The least of which is whether the Fat Lady, like Tuesday's voters, is looking ahead to 2020, and the not-so-teensie cost to hire three designers — one for a scarlet affair, another for a blue-tinted outfit and a third for a violet gown that reflects inclusiveness with nary a shade of black, white or brown.

November 5, 2018
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Audi Field, the new stadium in Washington for Major League Soccer club D.C. United, on Monday, July 9, 2018. (Photo by Adam Zielonka / The Washington Times) ** FILE **

Vote. Whatever you do, please just vote

"We did it," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a liberal Democrat, proclaimed on Wednesday. "This week, we closed D.C. General once and for all."

November 1, 2018
Deborah Simmons

Americans have their own problems and burdens

Indeed, Americans understand why you want to come. You say you want a better life for yourself and your family. You say you want to escape the drugs, violence, sex trafficking and lack of economic opportunities. Well, here's an insider's tip. Americans face the same problems.

October 29, 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.

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.

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."

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.

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?

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."

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.

September 20, 2018