But just within the past few days Coloradans have been reminded why having the sunshine is so important. Witness the latest investigative report from 7News' John Ferrugia and Arthur Kane:

In a time of tight budgets, teacher layoffs and increased fees, school districts are still spending money on expensive meals, teacher parties and even gift cards, a CALL7 “You Paid For It” investigation found.

CALL7 Investigators reviewed check registers and credit card databases for the major metro school districts and found thousands of dollars spent on a public relations consultant, gift cards, staff parties and meals at top restaurants. While the totals would never fix the districts' budget deficits, the spending shows that administrators are not cutting potentially wasteful at the time many schools are cutting education resources.

Typical of the genre, the story features a couple “Aha” moments in which local school district administrators have a hard time trying to justify some questionable expenditures. Metro area voters who may have to decide a number of local school tax initiatives this fall might be none the wiser if not for such investigative work.

It's important then to remember that a 2010 law requiring significant online financial transparency from Colorado school districts really made this story possible. A local news agency conceivably could have used the Colorado Open Records Act to uncover some or all of the information featured in the report. However, it would be difficult to generate the “probable cause” needed to spend even more resources and man-hours on an investigation.

The Independence Institute was at the forefront of the call for school spending transparency in 2009 and in 2010. More recently, my former intern Devan Crean and I were able to shine the spotlight on how well (or how poorly) local K-12 agencies were complying with Colorado's Public School Financial Transparency Act. In the immediate aftermath of that report, we heard from several school districts eager to fix their shortcomings.

Let's be clear. The results of neither the 7News investigation nor our 2011 issue paper necessarily indicate some sort of concerted effort among local education agencies to hide their financial activities. Jeffco Public Schools, a district featured in the article for a concerning apparent conflict of interest, actually posted a searchable spending database before the 2010 law was adopted. While transparency may sometimes prevent problems from occurring, in large bureaucracies it often may only help to show the problem is there.

On the other hand, my colleague Amy Oliver has found evidence that indicates why some higher education officials have lobbied this year against transparency legislation. Nine days remain until the end of the legislative session, and HB 1252 finally is scheduled to be heard tomorrow by House Appropriations. The likelihood of both passing the House and speeding through the Senate at this point seems like a daunting challenge.

The fight to preserve and expand government sunshine is ongoing. In spite of setbacks, we need to keep urging Colorado's education transparency train forward to make some more progress. And soon. If you can't defend it, don't spend it!

And they're causing headaches for Shaffer's campaign in Youtube search results.

The latest video has Godzilla taking on Toaster Shaffer in an epic duel. It's almost as good as Beavis and Butthead Do America. 

In fleeing her House district, Gardner can now feel safe to let her liberal flag fly.

Per the Longmont Times-Call:

"In Boulder County, we pride ourselves on our innovative ideas around energy, water and land use," Gardner said. "At the same time, we are facing the real possibility of flat to declining county revenue just as needs are expected to increase.  

"The importance of maintaining a robust safety net for our citizens — children, family and adults alike — is paramount," Gardner said.

In Boulder that reads: I love expensive & subsidized solar power and support teachers unions. Whereas in a competitive House district that is more likely to come across as I support unsustainable government spending and illogical energy policies.  

Prior to dropping her re-election bid, Gardner sat on the GOP targeted seat list, which all but guaranteed a gargantuan amount of direct mail and robo-dials directed at her tax and spend record in the Legislature. Despite cruising to a nearly 20-point win in 2010, most observers expected she would face a tougher challenge in 2012. Democrats had hoped that Obama would help boost vulnerable Democrats, but are slowly coming around to the realization that Obama will do more harm than good for most down-ballot races. 

As we reported yesterday, that recognition is settling in for DC Democrats, but it appears it's beginning to dawn on Democrats in Colorado as well. 

If you hadn't noticed driving around the state, there is a distinct lack of public support for President Obama. Gone are the bumper sticker laden cars, armies of campaign t-shirted volunteers, and group chants of "Fired Up! Ready to Go!" that were so ever-present in 2008. In a striking contrast, Obama's jobs speech on Tuesday in Denver was planned in secrecy, with the location leaking out through an Ed News Colorado report just today. 

On the other side of the coin is the growing energy and confidence of Colorado conservatives. With the GOP set to move its precinct caucuses to February, placing Colorado in the thick of the primary season, there could be an enormous growth in Republican organizing far sooner than Team Obama was planning for in the Centennial State. 

Look for more signs of Democrats’ realization that 2012 will be a bad year to be on the ballot with Barack Obama in the coming months. We won't be surprised to see more candidates decline re-election, or other candidates beg off from running for tough seats. Based on the seemingly endless, and growing, list of Democrats tied to corruption in Adams County, we think that might be a good place to watch.

If legislators start supporting pet projects or cutting deals, voters will smell it and punish them accordingly. Hickenlooper's budget is equally rough on a wide swath of programs and interests. Republicans would be wise to stand by him and let the Democrats be seen as supporting the demands of public employee unions.

Endless polls I've seen say standing on public employee unions' side is not going to help legislators' cause come November 2012.

Beyond budget cuts, a number of bills put up by Republicans, from requiring photo ID to vote to E-Verify has substantial and high intensity support.

Republicans are on the right track, but the budget is where the road forks. I suggest the Republicans veer right.