Back to Caribou Barbie . . .
Looks like there's some speculation the old rumors about the Palin's house having been built via graft and corruption may be coming back to bite, and hard. So far it seems that:
-The house was built without permits, due to Palin blocking any objections that they should get permits. Todd Palin claims that he built the house himself. Normally in a situation like this permits must be pulled as an "Owner-Builder", which means that the owner must comply with the same building and zoning codes as everyone else.
-The house supposedly contains many materials which are identical to a new civic building constructed at great expense in Wasilla.
-There is a Federal investigation involved with these matters.
As a professional in the building industry, I find it appalling that the Palins refused to go through the normal plancheck process and get building permits; using her power to do this clearly created a two-class society in Wasilla where normal people had to pay for permits and abide by zoning and building standards, while the Palins were considered exempt from that. I don't know about Alaska, but in many places substantial taxes for schools and other entities must be paid on residential building permits, so the lack of permits not only allows carte blanche with the building process but gives the owner a nice free ride on taxation compared to those who pay taxes. Maybe, like the late Leona Helmsley, the Palins feel that "taxes are for the little people."