Sunshine Week
@sunshineweek.bsky.social
Be part of a nonpartisan collaboration that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government. https://sunshineweek.org/
#SunshineWeek #FOI #FOIA #PublicRecords #OpenGovernment #FOIAFriday #SunshineWeek2025 #SunshineFest2025
#SunshineWeek #FOI #FOIA #PublicRecords #OpenGovernment #FOIAFriday #SunshineWeek2025 #SunshineFest2025
Reposted by Sunshine Week
📄 Goldwater Institute asks Arizona Supreme Court to review two public records cases:
📌 City of Phoenix
📌 University of Arizona
www.goldwaterinstitute.org/goldwater-de...
#FOI #openrecords #lawsuit
📌 City of Phoenix
📌 University of Arizona
www.goldwaterinstitute.org/goldwater-de...
#FOI #openrecords #lawsuit
Goldwater Defends Transparency in Two Public Records Lawsuits
Government transparency laws like the federal Freedom of Information Act and the many state versions of that law are designed..
www.goldwaterinstitute.org
June 2, 2025 at 2:34 PM
📄 Goldwater Institute asks Arizona Supreme Court to review two public records cases:
📌 City of Phoenix
📌 University of Arizona
www.goldwaterinstitute.org/goldwater-de...
#FOI #openrecords #lawsuit
📌 City of Phoenix
📌 University of Arizona
www.goldwaterinstitute.org/goldwater-de...
#FOI #openrecords #lawsuit
Reposted by Sunshine Week
LAST CALL to register for the free #JAWS Webinar on April 16! Have questions about #FOIA or public records? MuckRock's Engagement Journalist Kelly Kauffman will give an introductory session on filing public records. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: JAWS Webinar: Public Records with MuckRock. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Have questions about FOIA or public records? MuckRock's Engagement Journalist Kelly Kauffman will give an introductory session on filing public records, how to use MuckRock's tools (including Document...
us02web.zoom.us
April 15, 2025 at 7:33 PM
LAST CALL to register for the free #JAWS Webinar on April 16! Have questions about #FOIA or public records? MuckRock's Engagement Journalist Kelly Kauffman will give an introductory session on filing public records. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Reposted by Sunshine Week
VCOG All Access News, 4/15/25: Access 25 photos; Documenters' minutes; sorry, but you still can't see #FOIA
opengovva.org/transparency...
opengovva.org/transparency...
Transparency News, 4/15/25 – Virginia Coalition for Open Government
opengovva.org
April 15, 2025 at 12:34 PM
VCOG All Access News, 4/15/25: Access 25 photos; Documenters' minutes; sorry, but you still can't see #FOIA
opengovva.org/transparency...
opengovva.org/transparency...
Reposted by Sunshine Week
Reposted by Sunshine Week
Laws about the preservation of government documents exist for a reason — to hold officials accountable for their actions. That includes DOGE-initiated mass firings, agency dismantling, and authoritarian loyalty tests.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
American Oversight Seeks Information About DOGE Loyalty Surveillance and Newly Revealed Record-Keeping Failures - American Oversight
American Oversight filed FOIA requests with multiple agencies for records related to DOGE’s reported use of Google Docs for official work, as well as AI to monitor the communications of government emp...
americanoversight.org
April 13, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Laws about the preservation of government documents exist for a reason — to hold officials accountable for their actions. That includes DOGE-initiated mass firings, agency dismantling, and authoritarian loyalty tests.
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
americanoversight.org/american-ove...
Reposted by Sunshine Week
📍TODAY at 9:30am ET: @alexabdo.bsky.social will appear before the D.C. Circuit in a lawsuit alleging the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel is violating #FOIA by failing to disclose certain categories of legal opinions that are binding on the executive branch. Livestream: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzft...
www.youtube.com
April 11, 2025 at 11:39 AM
📍TODAY at 9:30am ET: @alexabdo.bsky.social will appear before the D.C. Circuit in a lawsuit alleging the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel is violating #FOIA by failing to disclose certain categories of legal opinions that are binding on the executive branch. Livestream: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzft...
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NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out!
When Trump fired inspectors general a few days after he was sworn in, I filed #FOIA requests with 73 IG offices for records related to the purge.
Here's what happened behind the scenes at some agencies.
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
When Trump fired inspectors general a few days after he was sworn in, I filed #FOIA requests with 73 IG offices for records related to the purge.
Here's what happened behind the scenes at some agencies.
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
April 11, 2025 at 2:38 PM
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out!
When Trump fired inspectors general a few days after he was sworn in, I filed #FOIA requests with 73 IG offices for records related to the purge.
Here's what happened behind the scenes at some agencies.
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
When Trump fired inspectors general a few days after he was sworn in, I filed #FOIA requests with 73 IG offices for records related to the purge.
Here's what happened behind the scenes at some agencies.
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Reposted by Sunshine Week
Did you miss @sunshineweek.bsky.social Fest? No worries!
You can watch the opening plenary as well as the keynote and closing now!
You can watch the opening plenary as well as the keynote and closing now!
Sunshine Fest opening plenary, March 20, 2025
Opening remarks by:Veronica Donahue, Johns Hopkins UniversityDavid Cuillier, director of the Brechner FOI Project, University of FloridaOpen Boundaries for O...
www.youtube.com
April 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Did you miss @sunshineweek.bsky.social Fest? No worries!
You can watch the opening plenary as well as the keynote and closing now!
You can watch the opening plenary as well as the keynote and closing now!
Reposted by Sunshine Week
Hey #FOIA fans want to do your part to make it easier to get DOGE records?
Easy peasy. Send a short (polite!) email to National.FOIAPortal@usdoj.gov and say, please make it possible to submit electronic FOIA requests to the U.S. DOGE Service through FOIA.gov.
That's all. I'll take it from there.
Easy peasy. Send a short (polite!) email to National.FOIAPortal@usdoj.gov and say, please make it possible to submit electronic FOIA requests to the U.S. DOGE Service through FOIA.gov.
That's all. I'll take it from there.
FOIA.gov - Freedom of Information ActLock
FOIA.gov
April 10, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Reposted by Sunshine Week
Prediction: At tomorrow's FOIA hearing, we will see renewed discussions of limiting #FOIA requests to US citizens only.
The Freedom of Information Act: Perspectives from Public Requesters | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
www.judiciary.senate.gov
April 7, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Prediction: At tomorrow's FOIA hearing, we will see renewed discussions of limiting #FOIA requests to US citizens only.
Reposted by Sunshine Week
I finally uploaded video of the DC Open Government Coalition’s #SunshineWeek event: youtu.be/1Nv-q10D8IU
In the interim, Chairman Mendelson lead an effort to carve out exemptions for the Council of DC from the District’s public meetings laws.
civic-texts.ghost.io/what-i-saw-a...
#OpenGov #FOIA
In the interim, Chairman Mendelson lead an effort to carve out exemptions for the Council of DC from the District’s public meetings laws.
civic-texts.ghost.io/what-i-saw-a...
#OpenGov #FOIA
DC Open Government Coalition Sunshine Week Event
YouTube video by Alexander Howard
youtu.be
April 7, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I finally uploaded video of the DC Open Government Coalition’s #SunshineWeek event: youtu.be/1Nv-q10D8IU
In the interim, Chairman Mendelson lead an effort to carve out exemptions for the Council of DC from the District’s public meetings laws.
civic-texts.ghost.io/what-i-saw-a...
#OpenGov #FOIA
In the interim, Chairman Mendelson lead an effort to carve out exemptions for the Council of DC from the District’s public meetings laws.
civic-texts.ghost.io/what-i-saw-a...
#OpenGov #FOIA
Reposted by Sunshine Week
VCOG All Access News, 4/7/25: leaked memo; rule changes by budget?; VA fire/rehire; library uncertainty #FOIA
opengovva.org/transparency...
opengovva.org/transparency...
Transparency News, 4/7/25 – Virginia Coalition for Open Government
opengovva.org
April 7, 2025 at 12:31 PM
VCOG All Access News, 4/7/25: leaked memo; rule changes by budget?; VA fire/rehire; library uncertainty #FOIA
opengovva.org/transparency...
opengovva.org/transparency...
Reposted by Sunshine Week
“Hello, the FOIA office has been placed on admin leave and is unable to respond to any emails.”
This doesn’t sound like “radical transparency” to me.
Check out my latest secrecy newsletter to see which FOIA offices have closed so far, and which might be next.
This doesn’t sound like “radical transparency” to me.
Check out my latest secrecy newsletter to see which FOIA offices have closed so far, and which might be next.
RFK Jr. promises radical transparency, then closes FOIA shops
Plus: Which FOIA offices might be closed next
freedom.press
April 6, 2025 at 8:49 PM
“Hello, the FOIA office has been placed on admin leave and is unable to respond to any emails.”
This doesn’t sound like “radical transparency” to me.
Check out my latest secrecy newsletter to see which FOIA offices have closed so far, and which might be next.
This doesn’t sound like “radical transparency” to me.
Check out my latest secrecy newsletter to see which FOIA offices have closed so far, and which might be next.
Reposted by Sunshine Week
My @rcfp.org colleague Gunita talked to @npr.org about the cuts to #FOIA offices across HHS and the negative ramifications for transparency: www.npr.org/sections/sho...
April 4, 2025 at 2:51 PM
My @rcfp.org colleague Gunita talked to @npr.org about the cuts to #FOIA offices across HHS and the negative ramifications for transparency: www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Reposted by Sunshine Week
By the way, this wasn’t the first time Trump filed a #FOIA requests. In 2023, I obtained copies of FOIA requests Trump filed with the Internal Revenue Service during his first term as president.
April 4, 2025 at 4:00 PM
By the way, this wasn’t the first time Trump filed a #FOIA requests. In 2023, I obtained copies of FOIA requests Trump filed with the Internal Revenue Service during his first term as president.
Reposted by Sunshine Week
#SunshineWeek: Libraries contain a treasure trove of information for journalists.
We asked a @ufjschool.bsky.social librarian how reporters can use the library to get the information they need — without an open records request: www.pressclubinstitute.org/2025/03/18/s...
We asked a @ufjschool.bsky.social librarian how reporters can use the library to get the information they need — without an open records request: www.pressclubinstitute.org/2025/03/18/s...
Sunshine Week Tip: How journalists can use the library for access to information - Journalism Institute
We asked librarian April Hines how journalists can tap librarians to help with their research and reporting.
www.pressclubinstitute.org
March 19, 2025 at 2:30 PM
#SunshineWeek: Libraries contain a treasure trove of information for journalists.
We asked a @ufjschool.bsky.social librarian how reporters can use the library to get the information they need — without an open records request: www.pressclubinstitute.org/2025/03/18/s...
We asked a @ufjschool.bsky.social librarian how reporters can use the library to get the information they need — without an open records request: www.pressclubinstitute.org/2025/03/18/s...
Reposted by Sunshine Week
I've dealt with the #FOIA staff at CDC, FDA and NIH for years. They provided a crucial public service. Delays in processing were the result of a complete lack of resources. Getting rid of the FOIA staff is neither efficient nor will it relieve the agency or it's statutory duty to process records.
NEW: The entire CDC #FOIA office — nearly two dozen people — received RIF notices. FOIA personnel at FDA and NIH were also dismissed. The CDC has seen a massive uptick in FOIA requests this year. It’s the second busiest year since Covid.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Top US Drug, Tobacco Regulators Cut as RFK Jr. Reshapes Health Agency
First came Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ouster of a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services’ vaccine division. Then, the HHS chief axed the people overseeing new drug reviews and tobacc...
www.bloomberg.com
April 2, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I've dealt with the #FOIA staff at CDC, FDA and NIH for years. They provided a crucial public service. Delays in processing were the result of a complete lack of resources. Getting rid of the FOIA staff is neither efficient nor will it relieve the agency or it's statutory duty to process records.
Reposted by Sunshine Week
1) DOGE firing an entire FOIA office doesn't negate an agency's statutory requirements to process FOIAs. Even if the agency is taken down to bare bones. They are still required to process FOIAs.
2) There will be no way to rebuild what DOGE breaks if there are are no records to use as a roadmap.
2) There will be no way to rebuild what DOGE breaks if there are are no records to use as a roadmap.
NEW: CDC FOIA page are being dismantled, including pages containing FOIA request logs and the portal to submit FOIA requests.
NEW: The entire CDC #FOIA office — nearly two dozen people — received RIF notices. FOIA personnel at FDA and NIH were also dismissed. The CDC has seen a massive uptick in FOIA requests this year. It’s the second busiest year since Covid.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
April 1, 2025 at 8:37 PM
1) DOGE firing an entire FOIA office doesn't negate an agency's statutory requirements to process FOIAs. Even if the agency is taken down to bare bones. They are still required to process FOIAs.
2) There will be no way to rebuild what DOGE breaks if there are are no records to use as a roadmap.
2) There will be no way to rebuild what DOGE breaks if there are are no records to use as a roadmap.
Reposted by Sunshine Week
NEW: CDC FOIA page are being dismantled, including pages containing FOIA request logs and the portal to submit FOIA requests.
NEW: The entire CDC #FOIA office — nearly two dozen people — received RIF notices. FOIA personnel at FDA and NIH were also dismissed. The CDC has seen a massive uptick in FOIA requests this year. It’s the second busiest year since Covid.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Top US Drug, Tobacco Regulators Cut as RFK Jr. Reshapes Health Agency
First came Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ouster of a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services’ vaccine division. Then, the HHS chief axed the people overseeing new drug reviews and tobacc...
www.bloomberg.com
April 1, 2025 at 7:52 PM
NEW: CDC FOIA page are being dismantled, including pages containing FOIA request logs and the portal to submit FOIA requests.
Reposted by Sunshine Week
A recent commission meeting in Ann Arbor has sparked a vital discussion on police misconduct transparency, influenced by an ACLU lawsuit that could reshape community relations.
Learn more here
#AnnArborCityWashtenawCounty #MI #PublicRecords #CommunityAccountability #CitizenPortal #AnnArborCity
Learn more here
#AnnArborCityWashtenawCounty #MI #PublicRecords #CommunityAccountability #CitizenPortal #AnnArborCity
ACLU settles lawsuit with East Lansing over public record complaints
East Lansing agrees to release police misconduct complaints following ACLU lawsuit settlement
citizenportal.ai
March 31, 2025 at 12:38 PM
A recent commission meeting in Ann Arbor has sparked a vital discussion on police misconduct transparency, influenced by an ACLU lawsuit that could reshape community relations.
Learn more here
#AnnArborCityWashtenawCounty #MI #PublicRecords #CommunityAccountability #CitizenPortal #AnnArborCity
Learn more here
#AnnArborCityWashtenawCounty #MI #PublicRecords #CommunityAccountability #CitizenPortal #AnnArborCity
