Sunshine Week

The national "Sunshine Week" organization has a list of some 2007 Sunshine Week events, including the Worcester events co-sponsored by WCCA, Worcester Indymedia, the Telegram & Gazette, Vocero Hispano, InCity Times, Worcester Magazine, and Power 1310.

Most of the other events on their list were sponsored by a single group; Worcester stands out as an example of collaboration on the issue of government transparency. Fantastic!

Congratulations and THANKS to all involved with producing yesterday’s special edition of Soapbox: “YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW” a forum discussion held in honor of Sunshine Week.

The Panel included Jay Whearly, City Editor for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Patricia Smith, Assistant District Attorney, Bill Randell, citizen blogger, Jaime Flores, reporter for Vocero Hispano, Mike Benedetti, WCCA TV and also a Worcester Indymedia volunteer. I hosted and moderated the discussions.

I found the program to be informative and encouraging. Panelist shared their experiences, challenges and success', with accessing government records. We also learned about open meeting law. Panelist also offered suggestions for improvemnets and to encourage openness in government as well.

This event also represented an historical first for Worcester as this was a unique collabortive effort between traditional and non-tradition media.

Access to government is not just important to professional journalist it is important to every citizen.

Stay tuned to WCCA TV 13 and to this web site for more as WCCA's Mike will be posting much more about this event very soon.

The event was shot live to tape, special thanks to WCCA staff, interns and volunteers for producing an excellent quality prodution. The event also included a live audience which included a city councilor, attorneys, professional and citizen journalist, and other public access producers.

We look forward to offering the video available for downloading ASAP.

The video will be cable cast on WCCA TV 13, “The People’s Channel” on

Thursday, March 22 at 9PM

with an encore presentation on

Friday,March 23 at 10:30 AM

For more about the forum videotaped at WCCA visit: ‘Right to know’ belongs to all by Matthew Brunn Telegram and Gazette Staff

Thanks again to all participating panelist, and all media partners and sponsors.

Everyday citizens have every right to government information and to access to the government, WE THE PEOPLE, have formed.

Check out this recent Sunshine Week News

The great site OpenCongress looks at pending legislation that fits the theme of Sunshine Week--openness in government:

Suspensions (three bills):

1) H.R. 1309 - The Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 2007

• - a bill designed to speed the government's response to Freedom of Information Act

2) H.R. 1255 – Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007

• - a bill to restore disclosure requirements overridden by an executive order from President Bush in 2001, which allowed former presidents to withhold documents from the public, and would force former presidents to turn over official documents 12 years after leaving office.

3) H.R. 1254 - Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2007

• - requires organizations raising funds for presidential libraries to disclose the names of donors and the amount of money they contribute.

Subject to Rules (two bills):

4) H.R. 985 - Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007

• - a bill to expand employees' rights to seek a judicial review of their allegations, and to increase the Merit System Protection Board’s authority to sanction violators.

5) H.R. 1362 - Accountability in Contracting Act

• - a bill to require federal agencies to announce within 14 days their reasons for awarding no-bid contracts.

(Above bill descriptions mainly taken from subscription-only Congress Daily)

Don't miss the public forum about openness in government and your right to know, March 15 at 2pm at WCCA, 415 Main St. You can submit questions for the panel.

Telegram & Gazette:

Whether people participate in shaping policy or simply observe the process, everyone benefits from seeing how, and why, decisions are made.

However, the impulse to conduct the public’s business out of public view is strong. Lately, improper meetings of officials in the local coffee shop or pub to evade public scrutiny have given way to exchanges of e-mail. Officials in Barre, Holden and Lunenburg have been sparked criticism for conducting business via the Internet, and e-mail deliberations in Northbridge last fall brought an unequivocal rebuke. The Worcester district attorney’s office notified the town that while use of e-mail for routine scheduling matters is permissible, the “voluminous e-mails” among board members discussing public business were illegal.

Do you have questions for the "Sunshine Week" show being taped at WCCA this week?

Representatives of the District Attorney's office, Indymedia, Telegram & Gazette, Vocero Hispano, WCCA, and ordinary citizens will be discussing your right to know what local government is doing.

Please submit questions as comments to this post, or e-mail mauro@wccatv.org.

The media forum "Your Right To Know" is open to the public, and will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 15, at WCCA (415 Main St), moderated by WCCA's Mauro DePasquale.

The forum is being held in conjunction with U. S. Sunshine Week, which will be celebrated March 11-17. The objectives of Sunshine Week are to promote the public's right to information, to demonstrate the impact of information on communities and to open a discussion about the importance of open government.

Panelists will include Patricia Smith from District Attorney Joseph Early’s Office, and Bill Randell, a citizen blogger. Members of the media serving on the panel will be Leah Lampson of the Telegram & Gazette, Jaime Flores, reporter for El Vocero Hispano, and Mike Benedetti, reporter for Worcester Indymedia and WCCA TV13.

Sponsors for the local forum are WCCA TV13, the Telegram & Gazette, El Vocero Hispano, Worcester Indymedia, WORC-AM, Worcester Magazine and InCity Times.

¡Todos están invitados!

WORCESTER - Fiscal de Distrito Joseph D. Early Jr. dará el discurso inaugural en el foro de medios publicitarios en «Your Right To Know» a las 2 p.m., el jueves 15 de marzo, WCCA (415 Main St, Worcester).

El foro es celebrado junto con U.S. Sunshine Week, la cual es celebrada del 11-17 de marzo. Los objetivos de Sunshine Week son promover el derecho del público a información, demostrar el impacto de información en comunidades y abrir una discusión acerca de la importancia de gobierno abierto.

Panelistas incluirán al Fiscal de Distrito Joseph D. Early Jr., y Bill Randall, un citizen blogger. Los miembros publicitarios Jay Whearley, editor municipal del Telegram & Gazette, Jaime Flores, reportero de Vocero Hispano, y Mike Benedetti, reportero del Worcester Indymedia y WCCA TV13, estarán en el panel.

Los patrocinadores para el foro local son: Telegram & Gazette, Vocero Hispano, Worcester Indymedia, WCCA TV13, WORC-POWER 1310 AM, Worcester Magazine e InCity Times.

Translation courtesy Vocero Hispano

You have a right to know what your government is doing.

Learn more at a media forum on "Your Right To Know" at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 15, at WCCA (415 Main St), moderated by WCCA's Mauro DePasquale.

The forum is being held in conjunction with U. S. Sunshine Week, which will be celebrated March 11-17. The objectives of Sunshine Week are to promote the public's right to information, to demonstrate the impact of information on communities and to open a discussion about the importance of open government.

Panelists will include Patricia Smith from District Attorney Joseph Early’s Office, and Bill Randell, a citizen blogger. Members of the media serving on the panel will be Leah Lampson of the Telegram & Gazette, Jaime Flores, reporter for El Vocero Hispano, and Mike Benedetti, reporter for Worcester Indymedia and WCCA TV13.

Sponsors for the local forum are WCCA TV13, the Telegram & Gazette, El Vocero Hispano, Worcester Indymedia, WORC-AM, Worcester Magazine and InCity Times.

WCCA TV 13's mission is "To ensure people have access to the use of a public forum through various channels of communication including technology and media with education and training resources."

We firmly believe that the heart of our mission is about inclusiveness, to ensure and encourage democratic and participatory inclusion for all. Democracy to the fullest, and economic development, as well, in our society, demands a multitude of venues for free speech, open forums and a free flow of information. A free flow of information is not complete without equal access to resources including government and public records.

The challenge is to accomplish this in a way that is fair and respectful and void of trivial and or commercial abuse.

Our participation in events coordinated with the national Sunshine Week is a natural fit. WCCA TV is happy to work in partnership with our colleagues to raise awareness and to engage citizens. WCCA TV 13 has offered our studio facility to host the event and intend to video tape the panel discussion. WCCA TV intends to cable and web cast the event, make the video available for distribution.

Let the sunshine in.