A little more on this

Expanding a little bit on this Athens-Augusta thing that continues to cloud the MCG discussion, though the bulk of it is coming from a handful of Augusta-area legislators, it's fair to say that Rep. Ed Tarver's criticism is way off base.

For instance, Tarver told The Augusta Chronicle ...

"The Umbach Report may have been fatally flawed from its inception," Georgia Sen. Ed Tarver, D-Augusta, wrote in an e-mail. Instead of looking at whether expansion to Athens was necessary, he wrote, Mr. Umbach accepts "without question that expansion to Athens is the only solution that would address Georgia's physician shortage. The report does not address whether or not Georgia could address the anticipated (2,500) physician shortage faster and at a lower cost to taxpayers by expanding MCG's existing facilities in Augusta and by utilizing abundant currently untapped resources."

But, in fact, the Tripp Umbrach report did just that. It's that Tarver merely refuses to accept it. The report clearly notes that Georgia will need to have, at minimum, 1,200 medical students in 2020. It also notes, and no one in the Augusta delegation disputes this, that even by utilizing all of the existing hospitals in the area, MCG could only handle 900 students which is short.

As a result, with the cheaper cost of educating students in Athens-Clarke County - roughly $100,000 per student cheaper - coupled with the ability to expand not only immediately with a temporary facility, but also effectively for the long term at the Navy Supply School, this community is simply the more logical choice.

It's not a slight against Augusta, it's just an acknowledgment of the reality of the situation.