Editorial: It’s Sunshine week, so bring on the sunlight for open government

Boulder Daily Camera: Each turn of a page on the calendar seems to bring a cause for awareness that ranges from the serious — such as April’s Autism Awareness Month —  to the silly unofficial holidays that we like to think are gaining momentum somewhere, such as Squirrel Appreciation Day, Jan. 21.

Today is the start of Sunshine Week, a noteworthy moment with noble intent and real purpose. The name refers to Sunshine laws, which provide for transparency in government through open meetings and access to public records, votes and other official activities that call for public scrutiny in a democratic society.

Sunshine Week is an initiative to promote open government that started in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors, which has since joined forces with the Associated Press Media Editors and is now called the News Leaders Association. The NLA’s purpose is to advance quality professional journalism, and so it’s fitting that it continues to encourage news organizations like ours to turn our attention this week toward access to public information and what that means for the communities we serve.

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