Last spring, when I filled in for our Saturday editor one weekend, I compiled a few stories that I didn’t think I could get a full article out of. It was fun, so I figured I’d do that while I’m filling in this weekend. So here we go…
When NIMBY hits (close to) home
We’re familiar with the phenomenon of people who fight against development of one kind or another near where they live. We call it NIMBY (not in my backyard), and I know what it’s like.
The Department of Homeland Security has bought an empty warehouse in a small town near me for an ICE detention facility. It’s just a few miles from my house, and the purchase has stirred up controversy in an area that’s highly supportive of the Trump administration.
The problem with the facility is the strain that it would put on the infrastructure of a small town. The town doesn’t have the water and sewer network to support or maintain a facility that could hold as many as 8,500, so it’s refusing to provide water and sewerage services to DHS. I don’t blame them.
Here’s the thing: I support DHS, ICE, and everything the Trump administration is doing to rid this country of the scourge of illegal immigration that the Biden administration foisted upon it, and on the surface, I’m not opposed to a detention facility like this one. But I also don’t want to see a town I love have its resources stretched beyond their limits.
It’s a hell of a situation to find oneself in. I’m torn, and I guess you could say that I’m NIMBY.
Farewell to a radio legend
On Friday, we said goodbye (or see you later, if you’re a Christian) to Chuck Norris, but here in metro Atlanta, we also bade farewell to a legendary DJ. Gary McKee passed away at the age of 81.
McKee was a fixture on the radio in Atlanta throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. He was so financially successful that he was able to retire in his early 50s. My brother heard on the radio on Friday that McKee was bringing home around $14,000 every two weeks in the mid-‘80s!
According to the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame, McKee was so popular that he became the first DJ to have a morning show simulcast on AM and FM frequencies:
In August of 1974, WQXI General Manager, Jerry Blum, realized that Atlanta metro had grown so big that WQXI’s signal couldn’t cover it all. What better way to improve on the limited signal coverage of WQXI AM than to simulcast the Gary McKee Morning Show on both the AM and FM. Yetta Levitt was hired to be morning news anchor. Willis the Guard was placed on the show full time and WQXI’s morning ratings exploded to number one and remained at the top for eighteen years.
Gary went on to work at WSB AM and FM as well as WZGC before retiring in 1999.
Tributes poured in.
Another giant of Atlanta media’s past is gone with the death at 81 of the onetime king of morning radio here, Gary McKee. I covered local radio for more than a decade and wrote about McKee and his WQXI morning show many times. At his peak, he was the best. pic.twitter.com/wnrpAphBLg
— Junkyard Blawg (@junkyardbillk) March 20, 2026
The very best to ever do radio has passed. Before I was a teenager he inspired me into what would be a 50 year career for me. Gary McKee was great https://t.co/1mtrboM1KY via @insideradio
— Wise Dawg (@wiserdawg) March 20, 2026
You can check out a 1972 radio show recording here, and here’s a 1979 TV news profile of McKee’s show.
Gary, Atlanta will miss you.
Recommended: They Blamed Georgia’s Pro-Life Law Again. The Facts Say Otherwise.
More proof that college baseball is the best sport on earth
Last weekend marked the beginning of conference play here in the Southeastern Conference, and my Georgia Bulldogs kicked off conference play at home against the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols won the Friday night game, and the Dawgs took the Saturday game.
Tennessee got off to a 5-0 lead in Sunday’s rubber game, but Georgia clawed back. In the top of the 9th, the Vols hit two more runs, and with two outs, Stone Lawless went up to bat. Lawless’ hit nearly tied the game, but freshman outfielder Cole Johnson had something to say about it.
Here’s Jeff Dantzler’s exciting call from the Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network:
COLE JOHNSON ARE YOU SERIOUS#GoDawgs | @williamColejoh2 | @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/jHDpvKUbWr
— Georgia Baseball (@BaseballUGA) March 15, 2026
What’s better is Lawless peacocking when he thought he tied the game, only to get robbed:
Pimping what you think is a go-ahead homer only to have it get robbed is such a bad look pic.twitter.com/On6oo6lsBQ
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) March 15, 2026
Side note: On Tuesday, the Dawgs got behind 5-0 against the Citadel but won 8-5. Michael O’Shaughnessy scored the go-ahead run. The winning pitcher for Georgia? Caleb Jameson. Couldn’t be more appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day.
And how about Alabama pitcher Tyler Fay, who pitched a complete game no-hitter on Friday?
A historic night for @AlabamaBSB’s Tyler Fay (RHP) as #8 threw nine complete innings with zero hits, zero runs and 13 strikeouts on the way to a #NoHitter!
Congratulations, Tyler! Roll Tide! pic.twitter.com/cer7NCXaOW
— Yea Alabama (@yea_ala) March 21, 2026
That’s Bama’s first solo no-hitter since 1942.
Random? Maybe. Worth reading? Obviously. If you like commentary that isn’t afraid to zig from public policy to radio legends to college baseball in the span of one column, you’ll fit right in with PJ Media VIP. Become a member today and use promo code FIGHT for 60% off.
