Aspen Daily News: Sunshine Week, which started Sunday, is an annual celebration of Americans’ right to know what government is doing. This year, there is far more to be concerned about than to celebrate, both nationally and here in Colorado.

Already in 2025, the White House barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office and announced that it, not the correspondents’ association, will decide which reporters participate in the presidential press pool. The cost-slashing Department of Government Efficiency tried to declare itself exempt from the federal Freedom of Information Act. Thousands of U.S. government webpages suddenly went offline, depriving the public of vital information regarding public health and safety. And FOIA officers were among those fired from federal agencies like the Office of Personnel Management.

“Good luck with that they just got rid of the entire privacy team,” someone with an OPM email address wrote in response to a FOIA request made by CNN.

In Colorado, the threats to government transparency are more subtle but still serious. 

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