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Harper Lee, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author, has died at 89

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To Write Love On Her Arms Founder Jamie Tworkowski speaking at free Kirby Center event

HARRISBURG &#8212; Lawyers for the state Public Utilities Commission want a do-over on arguments made against a media coalition&#8217;s efforts to have a letter critical of PPL Electric Utilities released to the public.The Times Leader is among several statewide media outlets embroiled in a legal battle over access to public records, stemming from the emergence of a letter allegedly written in 2011 by a PPL employee and sent to the PUC. The letter claims a PPL crew one month earlier was bumped from a higher priority job to a lower priority job while working to restore service during a crippling snowstorm that wiped out power to more than 388,000 PPL customers.A right-to-know request seeking a copy of the letter and other documents was subsequently filed by reporters with the Times Leader and The Morning Call in Allentown, but an appeal of the order to release the document was granted in a decision by Commonwealth Court and the letter remained off limits.The Times Leader and The Morning Call led a statewide media coalition in petitioning the state Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the Commonwealth Court&#8217;s ruling that kept the letter veiled in secrecy.In June, the state&#8217;s highest court reversed the decision and justices from the state Supreme Court in November heard oral arguments from both sides.But lawyers for the PUC and PPL argued in a court filing earlier this month those arguments should be heard again, as three new justices were elected to the court since they were held.&#8220;This matter is of vital importance to the Commission, as well as Pennsylvania&#8217;s public utilities, as it determines if the Commission must disclose the Commission&#8217;s confidential prosecutory staff investigation files when its prosecutory staff undertakes an investigation of a public utility,&#8221; wrote Harrisburg attorney Steven K. Bainbridge.Coalition attorneys Craig J. Staudenmaier and Joshua D. Bonn, of Harrisburg, wrote in a response Thursday the arguments were made approximately two weeks after the November general election and should not be heard a second time.&#8220;The fact that there are three new justices does not warrant the court to schedule another oral argument in this matter, especially since the court conducted the prior oral argument with full knowledge by the parties and the court that three new justices would take the bench in January 2016,&#8221; wrote Bonn.In addition to the Times Leader and The Morning Call, members of the media coalition include The Associated Press, The Patriot News/PennLive.com of Harrisburg, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, The Pocono Record of Stroudsburg, LNP of Lancaster, Calkins Media and Times News of Lehighton.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Joe Dolinskyjdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</shirttailMeta></div>

Times Leader, state media outlets continue legal battle over release of PPL ‘tip letter’