Each year news and government watchdog groups have Sunshine Week and this is it for 2011.
Oddly, I haven't seen a thing or heard a peep on DK.
One route to better government is to keep a gimlet eye on 'em.
Go get some meeting minutes or local government documents and see if the people you've elected are making all their decisions in the open, as they should. Examine your state's open meetings and FOIA (or Public Information Act) statutes.
Another is to learn what other people have done.
Every year there are "local heroes" nominated by citizens and selected by the American Society of News Editors. According to the Web page, "Over 30 nominations were received nationwide for the contest. All three winners were nominated by local citizens," says the web page. The winners are here:
http://www.sunshineweek.org/...
There are 65 pages of articles from all around the country on state and local government transparency listed on the same Web site.
Go have a look.
http://www.sunshineweek.org/...