The Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government is presenting its first Above and Beyond Award to the Lawrence Journal-World.

The Journal-World should be an inspiration for open government initiatives by citizens and every media outlet in the state,” said Randy Brown, executive director of the coalition.

In its announcement Wednesday, the coalition cited three Journal-World stories as examples of its support for open government.

¢ The “Lew Perkins case,” when Kansas University refused to release the employment records of its new athletic director, The World Company, along with The Associated Press and the Kansas Press Assn., pushed for and won release of the records. KU and then all Regents schools released such previously secret records.

¢ The Journal-World filed another Kansas Open Records action to get a copy of a police dispatch recording, which forced the city of Lawrence to play the recording in court and then release it.

¢ The Journal-World joined in challenges to the closed meetings of then Gov.-elect Kathleen Sebelius’ BEST teams and open meetings issues involving the Kansas State Board of Education.

An awards presentation is scheduled for Wednesday in Lawrence.