Chloe Driver, the Canton mother who is on trial for the murder of her 13-month-old daughter, Hannnah Nicole, was in a Cherokee County courtroom for the second day of her trial. Jurors heard testimony from acquaintance Jason Spillars, testified about her relationship, state of mind, and belief, not to mention the night of the murder.

ATLANTA – Ride-share numbers are booming for those who head to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, but one Atlanta City Council member says he is getting complaints from Uber and Lyft customers that the ride-share experience needs to improve. 

The world’s busiest airport is trying to address its customer experience numbers, which have also taken a dip of late.

The problem is the last thing travelers want to do after an exhaustive trip at the airport, is push your luggage an extended distance to get an Uber or Lyft. However, that is what is happening at Atlanta’s airport. 

“We are going to be hosting a whole lot of people, and we wanted it to be enjoyable,” interim Airport General Manager Jan Lennon explained. Lennon told the council’s Transportation Committee that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport wants to be ready when the FIFA World Cup arrives in 2026.

One council member says he wants improvements to what has become the airport’s Achilles heel. 

“Why is the ride-share experience so bad at Atlantis airport? Why do you have to hike so far to catch a ride when that’s what the majority of our customers are doing?” District 2 Amir Farokhi questioned. 

The council member is right. Ride-share numbers are exploding with 3.3 million people projected this year, in contrast to 463,000 passengers using taxis. 

“We are not serving our customers well if our ride-share experience is what it is, given the number of people who are using it and the revenues generated for our airport,” Farokhi declared. 

Lennon says her team is working on improving the ride-share experience.

“We are in a constraint area, working in a small confinement. Getting passengers to ride-share closer because it is a long distance, and we do understand that, especially people with ADA issues and things like that, so we are looking at that,” Lennon responded. 

Lennon says the airport won a service quality award just yesterday for 2023, but concedes the customer experience numbers have taken a dip. 

“Wait times were some of the reasons. I just had a meeting with the TSA administrator and preparing him. This is what’s happening for this airport. Moving forward, we need more officers,” Lennon demanded.

The Interim GM also announced the airport has hired Karen Ellis.

Ellis is a customer Chief Experience Officer who plans to help them get the customer experience numbers back up.

The Atlanta Dream have hired Florida Gulf Coast head women’s basketball coach Karl Smesko to the same role, the team announced on Wednesday.

Smesko, who has the third-highest winning percentage among active women’s basketball head coaches (.843), joins the Dream just weeks into the 2024 college basketball season. The 54-year-old Smesko had been the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast since 2002.

“I am humbled and honored to be the next head coach of the Atlanta Dream,” Smesko said in a statement released by the team. “I am grateful for a remarkable 23 years at FGCU and will be forever indebted to the amazing women who have played for me, the incredible professionals who have coached with me, and the passionate fan base who supported us along the way. I’m tahnkful to the leadership of the Atlanta Dream for their faith in me to lead this organization into the future and can’t wait to get started.”

Smesko is replacing Tanisha Wright, who was fired by the Dream in October after three seasons at the helm. She went just 48-68 in her three years as head coach, including a 15-25 mark this past season. The Dream fell in the first round of the playoffs 2-0 to the New York Liberty prior to Wright’s dismissal.