City Related

I talk a lot about poor ethics environments, probably the single most important element in unethical conduct. But since loyalty is the strongest force in such environments, a great deal of work is done to hide the existence of poor ethics environments. After unethical conduct is discovered, it is r…

According to an article in today's New York Times, this allegorical neoFlorentine sculpture called "Triumph of Civic Virtue," by Frederick MacMonnies was commissioned for City Hall Park in New York City back in 1922. Its heroic male figure, quickly dubbed "Rough Boy," stands over two women, Corrupt…

In the last installment of the ongoing Stamford (CT) ethics battle, the major antagonist had reached a settlement with the ethics board, and the principal cases, both ethics proceedings and a federal suit against the ethics board and the ethics complainants, were withdrawn. But this is a grudge mat…

A Clever Use of Government Employees for Political Purposes According to an article in the Miami Herald, it appears that the mayor of Miami-Dade County, currently facing a recall election, is playing a clever little game that involves the use of government employees for political purposes. The admi…

Let's Not Drink to It Yes, it has happened. Local government ethics has been compared to Prohibition. According to an article in the La Porte (IN) Herald Argus last Friday, this comparison was made by a superior court judge in town, who said that Prohibition "was intended to increase the productivi…

Conflicting Employment Is Nothing to Rave About Some forms of conflicting employment are wrong to the extent that the only way to handle the conflict responsibly is to resign from one of the jobs. If this is not done, even a minor conflict can be very damaging, especially when there are already oth…