'Here comes the sun' moments in government

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter

Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here

Here comes the sun (doo doo doo doo)

Here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right

George Harrison’s song of spring is a fitting start to my Sunshine Week salute to everyday heroes bringing light to local government.

“Why do you want to know that?” is a question most reporters have heard when asking for public documents. It generally becomes a Freedom of Information teaching moment from the journalist to the reluctant keeper of records.

Many years ago, I was covering a county commission...