Morning, y’all, and a happy Veterans Day to all who served. Expect morning rain and temperatures in the low 70s.
Today’s newsletter takes a look at a Cobb County student’s unusual expulsion, the demise of the latest suburban transit referendums and a wild weekend of local sports. Plus: You have to pay to park at the mall now?!
First, though, let’s talk about robo-rideshares.
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HOP IN, HUMAN!
Credit: Todd McInturf/The Detroit News
Credit: Todd McInturf/The Detroit News
I’m a friendly enough guy. When I have to hop in an Uber or a Lyft, I smile and say hello to the driver. I’ll talk if prompted.
Sometimes even cheerfully!
But my preferred approach to backseat travel is silent mode: eyes closed, enjoying a few seconds of peace.
My fellow introverts and I should be able to savor some more of that soon, sans any guilt. Though the “eyes closed” part might involve a little prayer, too.
- As my AJC colleague Kelly Yamanouchi reported recently, Lyft plans to launch a fleet of autonomous (that is, self-driving) cars in Atlanta sometime next year.
The rideshare company will partner with tech firm May Mobility to deploy an untold number of Toyota Sienna minivans. They’ll come with human “safety operators” at first, then transition to driver-free operation.
More specifics (including exact areas and hours of operation) are TBD.
- The plans follow similar ones previously announced by Uber and Waymo. They’re already testing autonomous Jaguar SUVs on local streets and intend to make them available for rides in early 2025.
So why the prayer part?
Well … not to be a geriatric millennial (emphasis on geriatric) about it, but I’m not super sold on the safety of autonomous cars. Crashes and other weird stuff have happened in different cities, and the feds are looking into things.
- As Kelly’s story mentions, AAA conducted a survey earlier this year and 66% of drivers they spoke to expressed “fear” about fully self-driving cars. Another 25% fell in the “uncertainty” camp.
File me somewhere between those two adjectives. I’d probably give it a shot (on surface streets! no highways!), but my bit is decidedly unchomped.
What say you?
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THE WEEK AHEAD
Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
Credit: Nell Carroll for the AJC
🫡 Today: Most banks and government offices are closed for the holiday. Dunwoody’s Perimeter Mall starts charging to park near its front entrance, which is sure to make shoppers happy.
💲 Tuesday: DeKalb County commissioners hold a town-hall meeting to discuss controversial plans to raise water and sewer rates. (6:30 p.m. at 178 Sams St. in Decatur).
- Judge Juan Merchan expects to rule on Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss his Manhattan hush money conviction.
- The president-elect’s attorneys are pushing for dismissal of his Fulton County case, too.
⚖️ Wednesday: Jury selection is scheduled to begin ahead of the trial of Jose Ibarra, who’s accused of killing Athens nursing student Laken Riley in February.
🤘 Thursday: OutKast’s Andre 3000 (a 2025 Grammy nominee!) brings his flute music to the Fox Theatre. Singer Pink rocks State Farm Arena.
🏀 Friday: The Hawks host the Wizards in an NBA in-season tournament game (7:30 p.m. on PeachtreeTV).
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A LASTING LEGACY
Credit: Courtesy photos
Credit: Courtesy photos
Harvey McDonald is an accomplished Navy aviator in his own right. But at a Veterans Day event today in Riverdale, he’ll share the story of his father: the late Lt. Col. Joseph Blaylock, a pioneering Tuskegee Airman during World War II.
- “I am here because of them, and so are a lot of us,” McDonald said. “Without the Tuskegee Airmen, none of us would be in aviation.”
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WARNING GONE WRONG
Two days after the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School, a 13-year-old middle school student with autism saw another threat online. It mentioned his former school — so he texted a few friends and warned them not to go to lunch.
Then he got expelled.
- “They did my baby wrong,” the boy’s mother told the AJC’s Cassidy Alexander. “They absolutely failed him.”
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TRANSIT OFF TRACK
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Cobb and Gwinnett counties both held transit referendums last week. This time neither involved MARTA or heavy rail, but they both failed by notable margins.
- So what happened? Look to the pocketbook, politicos say.
- (Don’t miss the maps and precinct-level data inside the article, either.)
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MAKING THOSE MILES
Delta bummed a lot of folks out last year when it changed the rules for reaching elite frequent flyer status. But some are still reaching their milestones by booking more than just flights through the airline.
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WHAT A WEEKEND
Credit: Butch Dill/AP
Credit: Butch Dill/AP
What in the wild world of sports was in the water this weekend? Because it offered a taste of everything for the Atlanta-area fan.
- The good: Georgia Tech football upset undefeated Miami! Atlanta United shocked Inter Miami again and advanced to the MLS playoff semifinals!
- The bad: Georgia football lost to Ole Miss, which makes Saturday’s College GameDay-hosting showdown with Tennessee a must-win. And founding Kennesaw State football coach Brian Bohannon is out of a job.
And the ugly? The Falcons provided that on Sunday (columnist Ken Suguira dubbed it “peculiar,” but same difference).
Younghoe Koo missed three field goals and a couple of late comeback attempts fell flat in a 20-17 loss to the hapless Saints.
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TURKEY DAY SHORTCUTS
Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching. And if you’re thinking of ditchin’ the kitchen and ordering in this year, now’s the time to act.
- Check out these local restaurants that offer satisfying holiday meals, traditional and non.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
» Former U.S. Kelly Loeffler to cochair Trump inaugural committee
» More Democrats call for Georgia party leader’s ouster
» New Trump administration’s health policies could affect ‘every Georgian’
» 24 more monkeys recovered after escaping from a South Carolina lab
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ON THIS DATE
Nov. 11, 1971
Voters in Fulton and DeKalb counties approved a 1% sales tax to pay for MARTA and its operations. The masses in Clayton and (gasp!) Gwinnett counties declined to do the same.
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
AJC photographer Miguel Martinez caught members of Grayson High School’s JROTC program waving to passersby during a Veterans Day celebration in Lawrenceville.
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ONE MORE THING
Retired Army Col. Al Fracker leads that JROTC program.
“Veterans Day is not only honoring those who served our country but just as much about the family that supported them through all that,” he told the AJC. “I think of my wife and my family.”
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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