Take a breath, please
Via Blake's take on this, I've come across Sylvia Cooper's take on some of the Augusta vs. Athens debate. Buried in there is this little gem ...
Use Gilbert Manor housing project property or lose MCG was the warning state Rep. Barry Fleming gave Augusta-area chiefs at the end of a two-hour powwow at Augusta Technical College last week. Well, maybe not in those exact words, but the message was clear
"Next year, we could be looking at $20 million to expand MCG, and it could be in Athens," Mr. Fleming said. "And every time we try to fight the fight to bring that money back to Augusta, and they can ask us, 'Have you taken care of that expansion problem down there in Augusta yet?' and we say, 'No, it hasn't been taken care of.' That $20 million is going to start heading other places. And once that path gets worn with money leaving Augusta, it's going to be easier to travel in the future, and it's going to be too late."
First off, Fleming's already campaigning for next year's GOP primary, and he's going to again rely on the ridiculous, but tried-and-true 'us against them' line of argument.
Second, what is the problem with the elected officials of my home town? Do they have one gigantic inferiority complex regarding this whole MCG thing? Can they not comprehend that this state - facing a shortage of doctors and a steadily growing population - has more than enough resources to support two state-funded medical schools? I mean, it doesn't seem like rocket science to me.
Call me crazy, but I'd even venture to say that if they somehow are able to find a way to address the Gilbert Manor situation (which has been going on for quite some time), we could probably find a way to accommodate expansion in both Athens and Augusta.
Of course I remember growing up, there was this rumor that kept getting floated around town that Atlanta was out to steal The Masters from us which, in hindsight, is absolutely absurd. But so many of the folks in position of leadership down there just apparently have a hard time understanding that growth can occur in more than one place in the state of Georgia.
Maybe Fleming and the rest of the voices of alarm oughta sit this one out for a bit.
Use Gilbert Manor housing project property or lose MCG was the warning state Rep. Barry Fleming gave Augusta-area chiefs at the end of a two-hour powwow at Augusta Technical College last week. Well, maybe not in those exact words, but the message was clear
"Next year, we could be looking at $20 million to expand MCG, and it could be in Athens," Mr. Fleming said. "And every time we try to fight the fight to bring that money back to Augusta, and they can ask us, 'Have you taken care of that expansion problem down there in Augusta yet?' and we say, 'No, it hasn't been taken care of.' That $20 million is going to start heading other places. And once that path gets worn with money leaving Augusta, it's going to be easier to travel in the future, and it's going to be too late."
First off, Fleming's already campaigning for next year's GOP primary, and he's going to again rely on the ridiculous, but tried-and-true 'us against them' line of argument.
Second, what is the problem with the elected officials of my home town? Do they have one gigantic inferiority complex regarding this whole MCG thing? Can they not comprehend that this state - facing a shortage of doctors and a steadily growing population - has more than enough resources to support two state-funded medical schools? I mean, it doesn't seem like rocket science to me.
Call me crazy, but I'd even venture to say that if they somehow are able to find a way to address the Gilbert Manor situation (which has been going on for quite some time), we could probably find a way to accommodate expansion in both Athens and Augusta.
Of course I remember growing up, there was this rumor that kept getting floated around town that Atlanta was out to steal The Masters from us which, in hindsight, is absolutely absurd. But so many of the folks in position of leadership down there just apparently have a hard time understanding that growth can occur in more than one place in the state of Georgia.
Maybe Fleming and the rest of the voices of alarm oughta sit this one out for a bit.
posted by Jmac at 5:53 PM
1 Comments:
Augusta suffers inferiority identity complex 50 weeks out of the year and a severe superiority surge the other fortnight. The MGC is not going to leave Augusta, despite Fleming's phlegm otherwise. I will give Augusta one thing though, they have more sushi restaurants per capita then anywhere else in Georgia.
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