As SEJournal's part during Sunshine Week, we've put together a step-by-step for filing your own Freedom of Information Act requests. Find out about best practices for waiving fees, expediting requests, pushing back on exemptions, appealing FOIA denials and using state open-records laws. [Image: © Clipart.com]
It's Sunshine Week, and open government events are scheduled around the United States. This month's WatchDog TipSheet has a rundown, plus news on SEJ concerns over restrictions to press access at FERC meetings, on a 7,564-page FOIA email dump on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and more.
As the Trump administration proposes big cuts at environmental agencies like the U.S. EPA, the latest TipSheet explores how to dig up local angles from the budget action. Examples: Tracking changes at EPA regional offices and labs, at Superfund or at state revolving funds for clean water and safe drinking water programs.
"SAN JOSE — New records and details emerged Friday about the disastrous Coyote Creek floods showing that San Jose officials were aware of the risks and prepared extensively for flooding, yet held off alerting residents as waters rose out of fear of unnecessarily alarming people."
"Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn’t the only Trump Cabinet official being pressed to explain omissions in congressional testimony at his confirmation hearing. An environmental group and several Democratic senators are demanding a review of the personal email account of Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, after he said during confirmation hearings that he never used that account for official business as Oklahoma state attorney general."
"Environmental reporters are often the town criers on looming disasters. Sometimes we listen. Often we don't."
"Public information film unseen for years shows Shell had clear grasp of global warming 26 years ago but has not acted accordingly since, say critics".
"Agency changed ‘Climate Ready’ to ‘Resilient’ from the title and webpage before Trump took office, in possible anticipation of coming chill from the administration."
Advertisement 
