Sunshine Week

Journal illustration / Frank Gerardi

 

Casting light on our government

This week, March 12 to 18, is Sunshine Week, an initiative led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors to promote the importance of open government and freedom of information. To mark the occasion, The Journal is publishing stories on open government issues. Other media outlets, libraries and schools also are observing the week.

A subdued birthday for Freedom of Information
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Journalists and other watchdogs for open government yesterday celebrated the 40th year of the Freedom of Information Act in glum fashion, lamenting what they view as an increase in official secrecy on many fronts.

Secret 911 tapes revealed police lapses in fatality
Two years ago, The Journal launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Brigid Kelly, a college student from Newport who was killed by a man driving a stolen van.

Meetings by phone: Not present but accounted for?
PROVIDENCE -- Until lawmakers intervened last year, it was accepted practice for board members of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation to phone in their votes and comments from Florida -- or wherever else they might be working or vacationing.

Pawtucket shut its tax files to criminals, aliens and The Journal
More than just a new year was about to dawn on Dec. 31, 1947, in Rhode Island. A new era was about to open in the people's access to government records, as The Providence Journal and the city of Pawtucket fired the opening salvos in a four-year battle over who owned public records.

Rhode Island resources Browse helpful sites with information about open government issues. Rhode Island's Access to Public Access to Public Records Act Rhode Island's Open Meetings Act, including how to file a grievance against a public body. The attorney general's guide to open government is a practical, how-to guide for citizens and public bodies that includes the judicial decisions, statutes and attorney general findings and advisory opinions relating to the Open Meetings Act and Access to Public Records Act. The attorney general's open government/access to public records search allows searches of all attorney general advisories and opinions related to these issues. The eTown Crier, maintained by the Secretary of State's Office, is the place where all public bodies in Rhode Island post meeting notices, agendas and minutes. The Freedom of Information Act Resource Center, run by the U.S. Department of Justice, includes a comprehensive overview of the open-records law that governs federal agencies.

Digital extra More about Sunshine Week from its Web site Links to open-government Web sites From 2005: Look back at last year's Sunshine Week coverage, including student essays on the topic Interact Survey: How open is your city or town government?