Wasilla More Gritty Strip Mall Than Palin Lets On

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin vows to battle political boys' clubs, but her mayoral record shows that girls' clubs can be useful too, the AP reports. While mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Palin accepted gifts from merchants—even thanking one for an "awesome" facial—and argued for rulings that favored her family. Other examples abound: A waiver eased the sale of her house, and tax breaks helped a snow machine shop she co-owned with her husband. More»

'We don't agree on everything,' she says

(NEWSER) - It's great that Sarah Palin landed the No. 2 slot and all, but her own mother-in-law likes that Barack Obama and hasn't quite made up her mind which ticket to vote for in November, she tells the New York Daily News. “We don’t agree on everything,” Faye Palin says of her daughter-in-law. “But I respect her passion. Being pro-life is who Sarah is.” More»

'I wasn't into the Hollywood thing,' says Sarah Palin's daughter

(NEWSER) - Bristol Palin has finally thrown in the towel on Hollywood fame and is back home in Alaska. “I wasn’t really into the Hollywood thing,” she tells In Touch . After her Dancing With the Stars gig, she lost celebrity traction, and a pending reality show was canceled. The incident that finally convinced her to head north was an ugly confrontation with a Palin hater in an LA bar. Besides, son Tripp will soon be in preschool and "we need to settle into a routine," she says. For now, Bristol is staying in an apartment beneath her mom's TV studio on the family's Wasilla property. Something she hates back home: seeing baby daddy Levi Johnston tooling around town in his truck as carefree as you please. “He’s not using his visitation, and he’s not paying his child support,” Bristol snaps. More»

Guess what famous family he's friends with?

(NEWSER) - A burned hotel room mattress, ruined bedding, a urine-stained chair, vomit on the carpet … but no, this was not the handiwork of a rock star on tour. Rather, Wasilla City Councilman Steve Menard apparently got a little crazy on a business trip—then slipped the city the bill for the damages. Menard, who has had alcohol-related problems in the past, apologized publicly Monday night and said he is now “11 days sober and working on a program.” More»

An 'undercurrent of fear' grips Palin's town

(NEWSER) - When Joe McGinniss moved in next door to the Palins on Wasilla's Lake Lucille, "Mama Grizzly" was furious . But, McGinniss claims, the rest of the town welcomed him. He's heading home to Massachusetts today to write his book, and talks to the AP about Palin's politics and the "undercurrent of fear" that grips her hometown. Some highlights:

• On his welcome to Wasilla: The locals "started bringing me blueberry pie," he recalls. "I had many offers of handguns to borrow. I turned them all down."