Did you hear the story about the federal scientist and the two-headed fish? The fish? Maybe, but likely not the scientist.

The caller on the other end of the phone line was near exacerbation. He had been given the run-around by government officials, the very people he put in office to represent him, and his quest for answers was met time and again with roadblocks.

If you aren’t a member of the news media, you may not be aware that it’s officially Sunshine Week, so here’s your chance to celebrate. It shouldn’t just be journalists who are taking time this week to appreciate our socalled sunshine laws — we all benefit greatly from their existence.

A Boulder Weekly story about the Boulder County Jail and the use of a restraint chair on unruly inmates has prompted other current and former inmates to come forward with allegations of abuse suffered at the hands of jail staff.

Not only are the towns of Erie and Lafayette in close proximity to one another, they share a great deal of history. Both communities owe their existence to the discovery of coal that fueled their early economies. The shafts of old mines still zig-zag just below the homes and businesses of these enclaves on the eastern plains.

Boulder Weekly has been told that the Camera and its sister newspapers in the area have quietly laid off approximately 12 staff members, reportedly affecting the only remaining reporter at the Colorado Daily as well as employees at the Longmont Times-Call and Loveland Reporter-Herald.

Threats from Erie-based rifle accessories manufacturer Magpul Industries may face complications from Magpul CEO Richard Fitzpatrick’s ownership interest in a Boulder restaurant in planning.

Among the unanticipated costs that the city might take on is the responsibility for cleaning up a site that is likely more contaminated than the adjacent Valmont Butte property, a site that Boulder Weekly devoted a 10-part series to documenting in 2012 due to the environmental hazards the city has inherited after purchasing the property in 2000.

There is no question that city staff and their hired experts did a great deal of quality work to arrive at their conclusions. But even so, their report to council is based on several assumptions that simply are not as black and white as they would have us believe.

A records request submitted by Boulder Weekly has found that in 2012, reporters for the Boulder Daily Camera were given records for free most of the time, were directed to the appropriate custodian of records and were not charged as much as BW or individual citizens have been charged lately for records requests.