The story of a Hoover High cafeteria worker has gone viral — all because a school visitor spotted her beat-up 1976 Chevy Malibu with its dented trunk tied shut in the school parking lot.

The visitor was Greg Quirin, a career tech ed specialist with the San Diego Unified School District. He asked Hoover Principal Jason Babineau if the car was owned by a school employee. Then the miracles began.

Babineau told him the Chevy belonged to Debra Davis, a cafeteria worker beloved by students for her sunny, outgoing personality. They call her “Aunt Debbie.” Quirin decided she would be a perfect candidate for a donated auto that a Morse High School shop class was refurbishing and wanted to give to someone in need.

Hoover High cafeteria employee Debra Davis, called “Aunt Debbie” by students, sits in her newly recycled car — a gift from Morse High shop students and the school district. (Greg Quirin / San Diego Unified School District)


On June 4, Davis was overwhelmed by the surprise gift of a 2014 Mazda tweaked to showroom condition. But that was just the introduction to her story. Turns out, she was spending every afternoon driving her battered car around the county carrying trays of homemade food which she dished out to the homeless. She feeds as many as 40 people a day, staying “as long as the food lasts.”

Davis uses her own money to buy groceries at 99 Cents Only stores and Food 4 Less. She recycles cans to help pay for it.

“She didn’t want anyone to know of her good deeds,” Babineau says. “She is so humble.”

“CBS Evening News” picked up her story. Davis was on “Inside Edition,” and she also got a call from “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”


Babineau started an online GoFundMe account to help her pay for her gas and food for the homeless. Unknown to him, a man on the East Coast who had seen Davis on “CBS Sunday Morning” also set up a GoFundMe page for her. Plus, unsolicited donations started coming in to the school.

“All in all, I’d say people have raised at least $20,000,” reports Babineau, whose GoFundMe account, as of Friday, totaled $14,491 from 210 donors. “All of it is going to Debra to feed the homeless.”

As for “Aunt Debbie”? “She is floored. She can’t believe this is happening. She didn’t want anyone to know of her good deeds. It was a secret between her and the people she was serving. She always said her reward would be in heaven,” Babineau says.

“I don’t want all this exposure,” agrees Davis. “This is not Debra. It’s the Lord’s doing. I just want to treat people the way I want people to treat me. When I see these people it’s like I won $1 million because they are so grateful.”


Oh, and she still owns her 42-year-old Chevy Malibu, nicknamed “Transformer,” which she bought 10 years ago at a Father Joe’s Villages auction for $400.

San Diego County Animal Services has severed contracts with six cities and will only licence and care for animals in the unincorporated areas. The other cities — Carlsbad, Del Mar, Encinitas, San Diego, Santee and Solana Beach — are contracting with the San Diego Humane Society. (County of San Diego)

Back and forth: Notices have gone out to San Diego dog owners that future licensing for Fido and Fifi won’t be handled by the County of San Diego, contracted by the city to oversee it for the last 47 years. Licensing and regulatory control are being farmed out to the San Diego Humane Society.

This transfer had hidden meaning to San Diego politician and former Superior Court Judge Larry Stirling, hired fresh out of the Army as a city administrative trainee. His supervisor, Coleman Conrad, was asked to analyze the police department budget, which in the late ’60s included operating the city dog pound. Conrad sent Stirling over to the County Administration Building to negotiate a handoff of the city shelter to the county.


“I was a novice with a vague vision approaching an important man,” Stirling recalls thinking as he knocked on the door of assistant County Administrative Officer Charles Bobertz.

“Yes?” frowned Bobertz. Anticipating an authoritarian dismissal, Stirling explained that the city wanted to transfer the city dog pound to county control. He was shocked to see Bobertz’ frown transform into a broad smile.

“He jumped up, stubbed out his cigarette, ran around his big wooden desk and grabbed me in a big bear hug,” Stirling recalls. “He yelled in my ear: ‘Larry, you are going to be a great success in this county!’”

“Why do you say that?” asked a perplexed Stirling.


The assistant CAO looked him in the eyes, grinned and responded: “Because when I was an administrative trainee for the county, my first job was to transfer the county dog pound to the city!”

The hand-over was far from simple, Stirling recalls, involving city-owned real estate, jobs, ordinances, politics, policies and issues such as dissimilar retirement equities. “I am now wondering who is handling the transfer to the Humane Society,” he says.

Edgar Ramírez, who played Gianni Versace in the FX limited series, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” received one of the series’ 18 Emmy nominations. He got the nod for outstanding supporting actor, along with Ricky Martin and Finn Wittrock. (Ray Mickshaw / FX vía AP)

Show of strength: Two shows with strong San Diego connections were big players in the 2018 Emmy nomination spotlight on Thursday.


In this 2016 file photo, RuPaul Charles arrives at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. The native San Diegan’s reality show received 12 2018 Emmy nominations. (Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP)

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race: UnTucked,” masterminded and emceed by San Diego native RuPaul Charles, scored 12 nominations, including outstanding host, hair styling and makeup. RuPaul called his reality competition show “a labor of love” and thanked “most of all, the amazing queens that help us celebrate the heart and soul of drag.”

RuPaul, meanwhile, isn’t resting on his laurels. He is writing and starring in a Netflix comedy series, “AJ and the Queen,” and he’s developing a daytime talk show targeted for a fall of 2019 debut.

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” which is more the story of young San Diegan Andrew Cunanan’s murderous cross-country crime spree, captured the most Emmy nominations (18) of any limited series.


diane.bell@sduniontribune.com


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