From The Colorado Independent:  It’s hard enough for folks to stay informed about what our government is doing – the demands of work, family, and binge-watching Netflix can take most of our time and energy. Even when Coloradans make an effort to educate themselves on important issues in our communities, they face roadblocks to information. In many counties, budgets and spending information aren’t posted online, and are only available during office hours. Court records in death penalty cases have been sealed, even though journalists reported from the courtroom during those trials. Government officials operate under “read then delete” email retention ...

From The Gazette (Colorado Springs): By Jeffrey A. Roberts "Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants." Louis Brandeis wrote these words a century ago, before his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, to note the power of publicity as a cure for "social and industrial diseases" like the inequities fostered by the corporate monopolies of his time. Today all states have "sunshine laws," a catch-all term for statutes requiring openness in government - rules meant to guarantee access to public records and proceedings. Justice Brandeis would probably approve: Shed light on the workings of government and society is ...

This week, national media, in cooperation with the First Amendment Foundation, is promoting citizen access to, and transparency in government. This is Sunshine Week. At a time when distrust of government — local, state and national — app ...

This is Sunshine Week, a time to promote transparency in government. An AP analysis found that the Obama administration, which came into office promising to be the most transparent ever, has become more secretive. read more ...

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today honored Sunshine Week by issuing a one-year report on Open NY, an initiative aimed at increasing citizens' engagement with their government, and encouraging New Yorkers to visit the State's comprehensive data transparency website, Data.NY.Gov. The Open NY One-Year Report, which reviews accomplishments and sets the stage for the future of the initiative, is available on Data.NY.Gov. read more ...

Government officials in Oregon have been fully transparent about just five of the state’s 19 economic-development subsidies, despite required reporting laws, shows an annual study released Tuesday. The 14 other incentives either lacked requir ...

Adam Andrzejewski offers a pithy formula for government transparency in a society becoming less and less free. “Every dime, online, in real time.” That’s the mantra of Andrzejewski’s openthebooks.com, a project of American ...

From The Durango Herald: So it’s Sunshine Week. Are you excited? I can hear most of you asking: “What the heck does that even mean? Are we celebrating the sun this week? What kind of hippie-dippie deal is this? Will I be wearing clothes?” Sigh ... It’s very hard to tell someone they should care about something and then get them to listen to why. But, well, you should care about this. And here’s why ... Read John Peel's column in The Durango Herald ...

In recognition of Sunshine Week, a national initiative to promote open government and freedom of information, reporters for The Durango Herald and the Cortez Journal traveled across Southwest Colorado, visiting 14 local governmental entities in an effort to gauge their openness ...

Gov. Mike Pence announced Monday the state is developing a data analytics tool for use by state agencies that could help increase the efficiency and effectiveness of state government. The tool will be especially useful on issues that involve multip ...