Two Oklahoma newspapers and a state lawmaker were honored Saturday during FOI Oklahoma's Sunshine Week activities at the University of Oklahoma.
The Enid News & Eagle was awarded the Marian Opala First Amendment Award and the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise was given the Ben Blackstock Award.
State Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, received the Sunshine Award, given to a public official or government body, for working to bring to light secrets at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Also see an article from the website of FOI Oklahoma Inc.:
Gov. Mary Fallin's unprecedented use of "executive privilege" to hide records from the public earned her FOI Oklahoma's annual Black Hole Award, the organization announced Saturday.
Two newspapers and a state lawmaker received FOI Oklahoma's top open government and First Amendment awards Saturday during the organization's Sunshine Week Conference at the University of Oklahoma.
FOI Oklahoma also announced winners of its third open government-themed essay contest for college students. First place went to Joey Stipek of the University of Oklahoma. The second- and third-place winners were Oklahoma State University students Colton Scott and Andrei Dambuleff. The students won cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100.
The FOI Oklahoma Inc. is a member of NFOIC. –eds