The goal of Sunshine Week — March 15-21 this year with related events occurring throughout the month — is to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public’s right to know. Here’s a look at how NEFAC can help you celebrate the occasion while defending your right to know about government.
COMMENTARY
NEFAC offers a broad range of commentary and expert opinions on open government concerns across the region. Have a story you would like to discuss with us? Email NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman at justin@nefac.org.
Here is a sampling of our recent open government commentary:
- Are Ansonia’s Budget ‘Workshops’ Transparent?
- 25 Investigates Wins Access to Records Shielded By Lowell Police
- Massachusetts Man Sues City of Nashua Over Address Requirement to Speak at Public Hearing
- First Amendment Lawsuit Seeks to End Nashua’s Policy of Requiring Name and Address During Public Comment
- Keep It to Yourself: Worcester Shuts Off Commenting on Social Media Pages
- Overcast, And Some Shade
- Body Cam Footage Won’t Be Released in Fatal Roxbury Shooting By Boston Officer (video)
- Lewiston Mayor Hopes to Shorten City Council Meetings By Reducing Public Comment Time
- ‘One of the Worst Offenders’: Why It’s Hard to Get Public Records From the Mass. State Police
- Can Maine School Boards Restrict Free Speech During Public Comment? (video)
- SJC Rules Charter Schools Must Comply with Public Records Law
- Priced Out: FOI Requesters Sound the Alarm as Hourly FOIA Fees May Be Coming to Connecticut
- ‘They Don’t Even Pretend to Comply’: Mass. Agencies, Cities, and Towns Openly Flout Open Record Law
- Bill Restricting Public Information Requests Moves Forward
PROGRAMS AND PRESENTATIONS
New Hampshire Right to Know Workshop
March 19 | NH Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College | 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Presented by NEFAC, The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications and the Granite State News Collaborative.
As part of national Sunshine Week, this in-person workshop is designed to help residents better understand how open government works and how to access public information themselves. Please bring a laptop or mobile device.
Led by journalists and community experts, participants will learn:
- The basics of New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know laws
- How to draft a public records request
- How journalists locate and use public records
- How advocacy plays a role in government transparency
Sunshine Fest
March 16-17 | Washington D.C.
NEFAC will be at Sunshine Fest to celebrate government transparency. The program — coordinated by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communication — will bring together journalists, record custodians, policy makers, historians, state FOI coalitions, librarians, academics, civil society nonprofit groups, commercial data providers, and all other constituencies who care about transparency at the local, state, federal and global levels of government. Join us!
Student Public Records Contest
NEFAC recently teamed up with MuckRock and the Society of Professional Journalists New England Chapter to launch an ongoing public records contest for student journalists. Hone your transparency skills and take your shot at a monthly prize package.
Massachusetts Open Meetings Law
Learn how the Massachusetts open meeting law has changed during the last four years and what developments — for better or worse — may be on the horizon. By viewing this lesson, you’ll get a full update to supplement everything you learned in our previous open meeting law lessons. Haven’t watched those lessons? You can find them here.
SkillsFest 26
March 26 | Online
NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman will present “The First Amendment Decoded,” a quick-hit lesson on libel; time, place and manner restrictions; forum analysis; and how the constitution protects your right to learn about government.