Use your voice, volunteer and vote.

These are the three Vs Michael Brunker, executive director of the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA, says folks need to keep in mind to move southeastern San Diego forward.

We talked with Brunker on this week’s podcast about the biggest challenges facing his community when it comes to schools – the YMCA has a solid relationship with Lincoln High School, which has had its troubles these last several years – and development.

“We have long envied seeing all the attention paid to the trolley line, and what goes on along transportation corridors like that” Brunker told us. See, there are plenty of people living far enough away from those lines that might not see an economic benefit of development and investment focused there. “In southeastern San Diego, it’s my opinion there is not a lot of land to be developed … Bottom line is, you can improve a corner or maybe a core area but then right around it, there’s so much more that must be done in our lifetime.”

Check out Brunker’s interview starting at 23:29 for more on community investment and Lincoln High School’s issues attracting neighborhood students.

Also on the show: Scott Lewis’ Chargers declaration that got plenty of people talking, how SD Unified justifies prioritizing stadiums over school repairs, Councilman David Alvarez’s disturbing statement after this week’s SDPD sex abuse settlements, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber’s impassioned speech on school reform, and Rolando Park’s time to shine.

And an extra nudge here: If you like the show and haven’t donated to our spring campaign yet, we’d be much obliged if you did. We’re extending it a few days until we meet our $100,000 goal. You can help get us there. Donate here.

Listen to the podcast hereon Stitcher or on iTunes.

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Catherine Green

Catherine Green was formerly the deputy editor at Voice of San Diego. She handled daily operations while helping to plan new long-term projects.

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