Bright forecast for Sunshine Week

Tamara Poelstra's father failed for 10 years to earn government disability benefits for his depression and PTSD, vestiges of his combat years in Vietnam.

The repeated rejections always tied back to his lack of proof of what he had been through, Poelstra said.

That is, until a fellow North Idaho veteran helped him use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain documents citing specific accounts of his life-saving moments.

Because of that information, his case is before a federal judge right now, she said, and he should hear a decision by the end of the week.

"What this meant to my family, at least to my dad, was an affirmation," said Poelstra, a Coeur d'Alene resident and member of the Kootenai Democratic Club. "My dad was in a really dark place. I'm not sure he would still be here if he did not get those documents - if he hadn't received affirmation on paper that he was there, and he went through this particular battle and he survived it."

Accessing government records can be life changing.

And anyone can do it.

Whether requesting veteran records or applications for housing developments, citizens' ability to access government records is inherent to monitoring elected officials and keeping track of what's going on in the community.

Citizens across the country will laud that accessibility over the next several days during Sunshine Week, a national initiative advocating open government and freedom of information.

"If you believe in open government, this is the week where it finally gets a focus," said Richard Karpel, executive director of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, which launched the event in 2005. "It stimulates a dialogue of the importance of open government and the importance of transparency at the local and state and federal level."

Sunshine Week begins today, but the KDC celebrated on Friday with a discussion at its usual meeting, Poelstra said.

The event included a presentation by Kristy Johnson, KDC member and former candidate for the state legislature and Post Falls City Council.

The need for government transparency is evident in how many records were hidden from public eyes during the Bush administration, Johnson said.

"Freedom of information was squashed using the cover that it was national security. A lot of information is coming out now about torture methods, and it goes back to the old adage, 'If we knew then what we know now,'" she said. "We need to have that information available so that as citizens we know how to vote, we know what to say, we know what to ask of our elected officials."

Transparency also weighs heavily at local levels, she said.

After the fuel leak was discovered at the BNSF refueling station, for instance, she went to the Washington State Department of Ecology to sift through records of remediation efforts.

"They gave me no problem. I was able to access whatever I wanted," she said. "That made me feel good about government."

All U.S. citizens can request local or state public records under their states' public access laws.

In Idaho, residents have a right to examine and copy any public record of the state, including those of all legislative bodies and courts. They can also access records from all Idaho agencies, which include those at state, county and local district levels, as well as independent public bodies.

Citizens must request to examine or copy records in writing. Many government bodies provide public record request forms on their Web sites.

Agencies must respond within three working days, and notify whether a longer period is needed to retrieve records.

"I've had no trouble getting information I need, whether from Post Falls, where I live, or at the Kootenai County level," Johnson said.

Agencies can deny a public record if it falls under certain statutory exemptions, such as records contained in court files related to judicial decision making, or investigative records of a law enforcement agency.

All statutes under the Idaho Public Records Law can be viewed at www.state.id.us/ag/manuals/publicrecords.pdf.

Federal agencies are required to disclose records requested in writing under the Freedom of Information Act. Exemptions are specified under federal statute.

Obtaining records on an issue is the first step to bringing it to public attention, said Rep. George Sayler, D-Coeur d'Alene.

"I think it's one of the best avenues they have for finding out what's going on in either promoting or protesting something," Sayler said.

Folks can also pursue open government by attending public meetings, he added, like council and commissioner meetings, town hall discussions and public hearings.

"Not enough," Sayler said of how many take advantage of those options. "If we have a meeting, only 20 or 30 come out, and half are the same people who were there before. It has to be a fairly significant meeting for a decent crowd to show up."

Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, said he witnessed the same during his terms as a mayor and a county commissioner.

"It seems like if they weren't directly involved or threatened by something, they didn't show up," Henderson said. "I think some people think it doesn't make a difference to come testify. I want to say clearly that is an incorrect position, because we always find it helpful to have the public testify to us."

He added that state legislators are always accessible by phone or e-mail.

"It's constant. If we leave a meeting and are on our way to another meeting, the hallways always has two or three people who have a question or want information," he said. "Our e-mails just stream e-mails. I always answer the ones from my district."

Idaho Public Television also streams the daily proceedings of the state House and Senate on its Web site, http://idahoptv.org/leglive/.

No other local organizations have announced any events for Sunshine Week.

Poelstra said she doesn't think many people are aware of the rights they have to pursue government records.

"I think there's always an assumption people know how to do it because it's a right, but I never learned it in government class," she said. "I always think it's important that we know what our rights are and we know how to utilize them. I hope that someday, just like they talk about voting and receiving a driver's license, this is something that's a part of our education process."