According to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/us/politics/07stevens.html&quot; target="”_blank”">an
article in today's New York </a><span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/us/politics/07stevens.html&quot; target="”_blank”">Times</a>,</span>

<b>Updates below</b><br>
According to <a href="http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_ethics06.3a1…; target="”_blank”">an

State or local ethics laws, state or local ethics training, state or local disclosure forms, state or local ethics enforcement? This is
probably the biggest issue in local government ethics. And it's a very
complicated one, which I have only rarely dealt with. There are
good (and bad) arguments on both sides, as well as practical, political,
constitutional, and funding considerations to take into account.<br>
<br>
I raise this matter not to deal with all its aspects, but due to

The <a href="http://www.cogel.org/">Council on Governmental
Ethics Laws </a>has great instincts for meeting where the ethics problems are greatest. Last
year it met in Chicago. This year it will be Maricopa County, AZ (the
Phoenix area).<br>
<br>
<b>See update below</b><br>

According to <a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/mayor_ray_nagins_ownership_o…; target="”_blank”">an
article yesterday in the New Orleans <span>Times-Picayune</span></a>,
there's a battle going on in New Orleans, but this time it involves a
flood of public documents, as well as a trickle of financial disclosure
forms. The battle is between the mayor and the city council, on one side, and a civil rights

Happy Fifth Birthday, Atlanta Ethics Office! The Ethics Office has
celebrated its birthday with <a href="http://atlantaga.govhost.com/client_resources/government/boards/board_o…; target="”_blank”">a
40-page report</a> on its first five years of existence. It is well
worth looking at.<br>
<br>

Last month,<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/640&quot; target="”_blank”"> I wrote</a>
about the responsibility of lawyers and other professionals for doing
something about the deeply unethical conduct of two judges in
Pennsylvania who unjustly, and to their own financial benefit,
incarcerated hundreds of juveniles.<br>
<br>
A few days ago, the New York <span>Times</span>

<b>Update:</b> February 5, 2010 (see below)<br>
<br>
Alaska and a small utility district in Texas. Who would have thought they could have anything in
common. But they do: representation without taxation.<br>
<br>
Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal by NAMUDNO (Northwest

We are told in school that one of the reasons the American Revolution
happened is that colonists faced taxation without representation. This
is just about as bad as it gets. But there is also such a thing as
representation without taxation. How bad is that? What effect does it
have on government and, more particularly, on government ethics?<br>
<br>

Recently, the Jackson County (MO) <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/674&quot; target="”_blank”">county legislature decided</a>
to exclude not only county legislature members from its new ethics
code, but also county attorneys. This exception is hidden square in the
middle of a 58-page code:<br>
<br>