Success Stories

We love to see Sunshine Spring and FOI in action! Below are some success stories we've received that we'd love to share with you.

Knight report mapping the civic data universe

Dear colleague,

I wanted to thank you for participating in the Knight study mapping out the FOI civic data universe, which was released for Sunshine Week. The report provides some information that might be of interest to you, including:

  • Predictors of successful nonprofit organizations in this realm, including executive director demographics, geographic location, and revenue streams.

  • Areas of duplication and gaps.

  • 10 moon-shot goals for moving the needle.

  • More than 300 organizations from a dozen different “galaxies” that could be potential partners. I posted an Excel file online with contact information for all the organizations.

I am hoping we can engage in continued conversations toward new collaborations and new funding streams to bolster the ability of journalists and citizens to access and disseminate information critical for communities, including about health crises!

Feel free to reach out to me if you would like to chat or make additions/edits to the online directory. Be safe!

David Cuillier, Associate professor
University of Arizona School of Journalism

Ken Perkins filed a successful lawsuit against the Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority (TCEDA) using the California Public Records Act (PRA) laws. According to this Union Democrat article, he and his lawyer won a major "sunshine" lawsuit against a governmental organization that would not comply with my request for public documents. As a result of his lawsuit, The Union Democrat, using their own PRA requests, discovered that this organization was misusing public funds. As a result, the Board of Supervisors voted 5:0 to dissolve TCEDA and the City of Sonora voted 4:0 to dissolve it as well. This was a great success for sunshine laws. The lawsuit was filed on June 11, 2018, the organization was dissolved less than one year later. The Union Democrat published many articles about their efforts to shine a light on governmental incompetence.

Teachers win in Alabama Supreme Court, insurance premium refunds coming by Trisha Powell Crain, Alabama News

"The Alabama Supreme Court today ruled that public officials must conduct the public’s business in public.

The Court ruling addressed attempted loopholes, affirming that the Open Meetings Act does not allow public officials to meet in private for "training" when they that training is just a presentation from their staff.

The Court agreed with the Alabama Education Association that the state's education employee insurance board, known as PEEHIP, violated the Alabama Open Meetings Act in 2016 when it met behind closed doors to discuss a premium increase for teachers and other education employees."

News Leaders Association