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Somewhere between St. Patrick’s Day, deadly storms and the first day of Spring, we almost missed the celebration of Sunshine Week.

While many of you may not know about the annual commemoration, those of us in the news business know it well: a week set aside each year to reflect on the importance of a free press and the role it plays in our communities and our nation.

And while the national media has been much maligned in recent years, we have worked tirelessly to continue to cover the issues and lives of our communities, in both print and online.

We attend city council and county supervisor meetings. We cover school board meetings and gatherings of elected officials. We ask questions – some harder than others – and we report back on the happenings – groundbreaking or mundane – so our print and digital readers are informed and have the ability to hold their officials accountable.

It’s our responsibility as the Fourth Estate, and one that we take seriously.

We believe the business of government – from approving monthly payables to making decisions about raising taxes, from decisions made in public or behind closed doors – is your business. It is your right to know every transaction, every decision, every deliberation of your government – from the White House to the local courthouse.

We believe public records should be public – and made accessible to the public in an easy to access format. And we believe we have an obligation to the communities we serve to be the eyes, the ears and the voice for all our residents.

So, we can’t let Sunshine Week pass without taking time to once again pledge to you, our readers, that we will continue to keep you informed, to be your voice and to let the sun shine on the work of our government.