Get Yer Sunshine Week T-Shirt Here!

By: E&P Staff Sunshine Week 2007, the third annual national initiative for open government, is coming March 11-17, and for the first time, it will feature available merchandise.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE), which leads the initiative supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, announced Thursday that Sunshine Week logo swag is available for purchase online. T-shirts for adults and children, caps, coffee mugs, tote bags and more can be bought at www.cafepress.com/sunshineweek.

All proceeds will go directly to Sunshine Week programs, ASNE said.

As in past years, newspapers nationwide are being asked to publish articles, editorials, cartoons and other material about open government issues and protecting public access to public information. This year's initiative will again include participation non-profit organizations, schools, civic groups and libraries, ASNE said.

"We're going into our third year of Sunshine Week, and the concept just continues to build momentum," said ASNE President David A. Zeeck, executive editor of The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash. "We've built even stronger relationships with our existing partners, and we're continually finding new groups and individuals who want to join the fight against unwarranted government secrecy at all levels.

The Sunshine Week Web site will continue to host examples from March 2006 in the frequently updated "Shining Examples" gallery at www.sunshineweek.org/sunshineweek/toc06.

Examples of how Sunshine Week efforts made a difference in legislatures and communities are also available on the site at www.sunshineweek.org/sunshineweek/success06.

ASNE also announced the Sunshine Week 2007 regional coordinators. They are as follows:

New England: Thomas E. Heslin, managing editor for new media, The Providence (R.I.) Journal

Mid-Atlantic: Tim Franklin, editor and senior vice president, The Baltimore (Md.) Sun

South: Mark Tomasik, editor, Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers, Stuart, Fla.

Midwest: Tom O'Hara, managing editor, Cleveland Plain Dealer

West: Fred Zipp, managing editor, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman

Far West: Maureen West, senior editor, Arizona Republic, Phoenix.

ASNE recently was granted a registered trademark for the Sunshine Week logo. It said participants are welcome to use new Sunshine Week images, which incorporate the trademark symbol.

The new logos are online here.