According to <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-broward-ethics-code-2014042…; target="”_blank”">an
article this week in the <i>Sun-Sentinel</a>,</i>
the Broward County, FL commission is discussing changes to the countywide ethics program, focusing on gifts and ethics advice.<br>
<br>
<b>Gift Bans</b><br>

According to <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/tables-turn-as-pol…; target="”_blank”">an
article this week in the St. Louis <i>Post-Dispatch</a>,</i>
the new mayor of Poplar Bluff, MO is a gadfly who had been totally
ignored when she questioned the dealings of her town government.

Here's an interesting conflict situation from Louisiana that
involves a good intra-governmental revolving door provision and unforeseen circumstances. According to
<a href="http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/8983032-171/state-ethics-staf…; target="”_blank”">an
article today in the <i>Advocate</a>,</i>
the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board made the wise decision to

Earlier this month, a bill came before the Israeli legislature, the
Knesset, called the Machers Bill. Its goal is to expand the
Knesset's lobbying law to the executive branch as well as to
municipalities, something that is rare in American states.<br>
<br>
But what is a "macher"? It's a Yiddish term that, in the U.S., is
most frequently used with respect to people in the Jewish community
who always have their fingers in everything that's going on. They

Submitted on behalf of the Author: Mary M. Báthory Vidaver

Reading in <i>The Economist</i> a distinction made by Paul
Kingsnorth, a leader of the uncivilization movement, a response to
climate change, made me wonder whether it is also important with
respect to government ethics. His distinction is between a "problem"
and a "predicament." A "problem" is something that can be solved. A
"predicament" is something that must be endured, for which there is
no real solution. When faced with a predicament, the appropriate

I am a big believer in officials taking voluntary action to improve an ethics
environment when passing laws is not possible. For example, if the
state and the council both choose not to prohibit campaign
contributions from restricted sources, that is no reason why a
mayoral candidate should not make it known that he will reject such contributions and do his best
to get all candidates to reject them. In many instances, this can be
the end of such campaign contributions in that particular city or

Can local legislators be trusted with the discretion to reimburse
their colleagues for legal fees in ethics proceedings? This question
is raised by a decision of the Wellington, FL council a few weeks
ago.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://gotowncrier.com/2014/03/letter-the-rule-of-law/&quot; target="”_blank”">an
editorial in the Town-Crier Online</a>, Wellington's mayor was

This week, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/opinion/an-indecent-burial.html&quot; target="”_blank”">Linda
Greenhouse pointed out, in a New York <i>Times</i> op-ed piece</a>,
that <a href="http://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/D3B5DAF947A03F278525…; target="”_blank”">an

I read something very exciting today in the April 1 newsletter of
the Ethics Section of the American Society for Public
Administration. In a short essay entitled "Living in Glass Houses:
Ethics Commissions in the United States," Stuart C. Gilman, who has
had an illustrious career both in academia and on the front lines of
ethics and anti-corruption efforts, wrote the following:<blockquote>