MARTA search broke law, legislator says

The head of a state legislative committee overseeing MARTA contends the transit authority’s board violated state law by holding what amounted to a secret vote to select the next general manager.

The state Attorney General’s office said it will investigate the complaint by state Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Atlanta.

Jacobs cited emails from Barbara Babbitt Kaufman, who chaired the board of directors’ GM search committee, to other board members. In it, she asked them to send her their “vote” on which finalist should be the next general manager.

A MARTA board lawyer said Kaufman’s emails merely sought opinions and did not break the law.

In today's newspaper, the AJC examines this complaint. It's a story you'll only get by picking up a copy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution or logging on to the paper's iPad app. Subscribe today.

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Steve Visser

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In Georgia’s melon mecca, watermelon wizards’ ears are sweetly attuned

In the heart of Georgia's watermelon country, everyone has a trick to tell if a melon is ripe. One way is the sound a melon makes when it is thumped. Or better, patted.