Colin Donohue

From the Daily Tar Heel (3/18/09): This week is Sunshine Week, part of a nationwide initiative to raise awareness about the importance of open government and freedom of information.

From the Greensboro News and Record (3/24/09): Last year, news organizations battled then-Gov. Mike Easley for access to state agency e-mails. Electronic communications, like documents on paper, are public records. The people have a right to see them.

From the Charlotte Observer (3/21/09): For Sunshine Week, the Observer has asked public officials to discuss their views about open government. A different official will be featured each day.

From ENCToday.com (3/21/09): An area legislator is looking to add a little bite to North Carolina's public records law.

From jdnews.com (3/20/09): The topic of open government has been basking in attention this week as First Amendment advocates across the country observed Sunshine Week.

More than half of North Carolinians are unaware that state laws exist to allow public access to government records, according to the latest Elon University Poll, but nearly all respondents feel democracy is best when it operates openly.

The N. C. Open Government Coalition is reacting today to news that 63 percent of the citizens polled are not familiar with the state’s public records and open meetings laws.

From the Winston-Salem Journal (3/20/09): Sunshine is an apt metaphor for openness and transparency in government. Very little grows in darkness; good does not dwell there. Light, on the other hand, is necessary for life and renewal. So it is with knowledge. We don't learn if we cannot see.

From the Hendersonville (N.C.) Times-News (3/20/09): A survey by the Associated Press ranked North Carolina near the top in posting public records on the Internet.

From the Charlotte Observer (3/18/09): For Sunshine Week, the Observer has asked public officials to discuss their views about open government. A different official will be featured each day.