Mastodawn

The April Edition of @[email protected]’s gazette just came out. OGP claims that it’s #OpenGov’s “top news, reforms, & reads,” but that’s not true: It’s just OGP news. OGP wrote nothing about @[email protected] before, during, or after #SunshineWeek, & 0 the USA since Trump admin left.

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Alexander Howard Mar 25

*Prior administrations* did make real progress in “improving FOIA processes & prioritizing citizens’ access to information about their government." The Trump administration has not. It is downright Orwellian to claim the inverse to be true on a Department of Justice website during #SunshineWeek.

Alexander Howard Mar 25

The Department of Justice misled Americans about the true causes and costs of growing delays to Freedom of Information Act requests during #SunshineWeek. I was sufficiently sad (& angry) enough to compose this email about their falsehoods, which is now a blog post: groups.google.com/g/us-open-go...

Department of Justice misleads...

The Department of Justice celebrated the FOIA by blaming slow responses on a "small group of prolific requestors and litigants" instead of DOGE gutting FOIA offices

Alexander Howard Mar 24

"As a C.D.C. employee, you get annual trainings on FOIA & record keeping. All of a sudden it was like a complete withdrawal of that. It was really frightening & eerie." www.nytimes.com/interactive/... That's "authoritarian blindness," but @[email protected] won't call it that, yet. #OpenGov #SunshineWeek

Inside the Turmoil at RFK Jr.’...

Inside the Turmoil at RFK Jr.’s CDC, as Told by Current and Former Employees

Forty-three current and former C.D.C. employees on the changes they say are replacing science with ideology — and making Americans more vulnerable.

The New York Times

LauraRBelin Mar 23

ICYMI: I wrote about transparency at the #Iowa legislature for #SunshineWeek.
The House has much better access for the media.
But the Senate's subcommittee and committee meetings are more accessible to the public & media.
More thoughts here:
https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/03/22/how-open-are-the-iowa-house-and-senate-a-sunshine-week-review/

How open are the Iowa House and Senate? A Sunshine Week review

For Sunshine Week, Laura Belin examines public and media access at the Iowa legislature, and what each chamber could learn from the other.

Bleeding Heartland

LauraRBelin Mar 22

Who's up early?
For Sunshine Week, I looked at public and media access at the Iowa legislature, and what each chamber could learn from the other to make #ialegis more transparent. #SunshineWeek
https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/03/22/how-open-are-the-iowa-house-and-senate-a-sunshine-week-review/

How open are the Iowa House and Senate? A Sunshine Week review

For Sunshine Week, Laura Belin examines public and media access at the Iowa legislature, and what each chamber could learn from the other.

Bleeding Heartland

EPIC Mar 20

We've nearly reached the end of #SunshineWeek, ☀️ an annual celebration of some of our favorite things here at EPIC: public records, open government, and freedom of information. (1/7)

Alaska Beacon Mar 20

We’re nearing the end of #SunshineWeek, but our work holding Alaska's government accountable continues every day. If you haven’t had a chance yet, can you chip in to power @[email protected] journalism? alaskabeacon.com/donate/

The Colorado Sun ☀️Mar 20

All levels of government are cracking down on press freedoms — and in turn, your right to know what’s going on in your government.

Join the fight for transparency by supporting independent media this #SunshineWeek.

Donate now: https://giving.coloradosun.com/page/sunshine-week-2026

Our right to know

With closed doors, high fees, slow responses and increasing exemptions, all levels of government have increasingly stomped down on the public's access to information and press freedom. Fight for government transparency. Support independent media during Sunshine Week as we fight for greater accountability.

The Colorado Sun

ricky Mar 20

Happy #SunshineWeek to those who celebrate https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/mar/19/chaos-or-not-chaos-despite-risks-many-chattanooga/

‘Chaos or not chaos’: Despite risks, many Chattanooga area governments don’t have AI policies

Most local and state governmental agencies in the region haven't enacted policies to govern employee use of artificial intelligence, which experts say could make oversight more difficult and introduce security and privacy risks, according to a survey of officials.