ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by trading on her position in seeking money for legal fees, in the latest legal distraction for the former vice presidential candidate as she prepares to leave office this week.

When the Democrats took over the House last year, they promised quick action on ethics reform to prevent the kind of scandals that drove the Republicans from power. And indeed they promptly enacted restrictions on the favors lobbyists could do for members, but they deadlocked on reforming the House’s own internal policing mechanism.

Several members of the Scottsdale City Council are looking to turn over the task of crafting an ethics policy to the residents who elected them.

The House Republican leadership has done Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., no favors. Speaker Dennis Hastert last week made Hastings the new chairman of the House ethics committee, the panel charged with investigating members who may have violated House rules. And Hastert went by the book. The former chairman, Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., had served the prescribed two terms and Hastings was next in line in seniority.

TO OUR READERS: This is the eighth in a series of stories previewing football teams in the Pac-10. Coming Sunday: Washington State.

First they came for the video games, launching an attack in April that siphoned millions of users' personal information from Sony's PlayStation Network that shut it down for weeks.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office filed ethical complaints against two Superior Court judges Nov. 30.

On a party-line vote, the Senate Ethics Committee on Tuesday threw out a complaint that Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, violated rules when he cut off debate on the last night of the session.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas on Tuesday revealed that he and some of his prosecutors are the targets of a wide-ranging series of ethics probes by the State Bar of Arizona.

It’s not mandatory for city and town councils to have a written ethics policy to guide them. Not all East Valley municipalities do. And they really shouldn’t be necessary, as holders of public office automatically should aspire to the highest standards of professional conduct.

In a move aimed at Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman, the local arm of the Republican Party is urging Town Council members to adopt a code of ethics for themselves.

WASHINGTON - In a survey of U.S. troops in combat in Iraq, less than half of Marines and a little more than half of Army soldiers said they would report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian.

Applying Scottsdale’s ethics policy to nonvoting members of city subcommittees could create a brain drain of experts with vital experience, said a volunteer who wants to continue serving on two of the panels.

Applying Scottsdale’s ethics policy to nonvoting members of city subcommittees could create a brain drain of experts with vital experience, said a volunteer who wants to continue serving on two of the panels.

The Scottsdale City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a new code of ethics for elected city officials, their appointees and all 2,600 city employees.

Tempe’s police chief violated ethical standards by writing a letter on behalf of a councilwoman’s son arrested for growing marijuana, an investigation has found.

Tempe’s police chief violated ethical standards by writing a letter on behalf of a councilwoman’s son arrested for growing marijuana, an investigation has found.

After playing a video from 1998 about Enron’s commitment to respect, integrity, communication and excellence, Lynn Brewer remarked, “I still wish I could work for that company.”

Food City, Bashas’ and Fry’s grocery stores, Target, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Sonic, Papa John’s Pizza, Skippy’s restaurant, Cold Stone Creamery, Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza . . . and the list goes on.

Food City, Bashas’ and Fry’s grocery stores, Target, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Sonic, Papa John’s Pizza, Skippy’s restaurant, Cold Stone Creamery, Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza . . . and the list goes on.