Category: News & Events

EDITORIAL: Celebrating 10 years of open records in Pennsylvania: The Right to Know Law now guarantees citizens the right to obtain public records from state and local agencies in Pennsylvania. It also guarantees your right to obtain legislative records from the Pennsylvania General Assembly and financial records from the state judicial systems. The law also set…

Chicago Sun-Times: When a fatal Legionnaires’ disease outbreak first struck the Illinois Veterans Home in downstate Quincy back in 2015, the state agency that runs the facility prepared for possible media questions about whether the fenced-in park was “dangerous” for children, according to emails examined by WBEZ. But now, it’s a detail that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s…

Penn State News:  Media critic David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun took aim at a variety of topics in 2017, and he did so with deep knowledge and a passion — driven by a desire to advocate for news consumers, informing the citizens who rely on the valuable information his work provides. For his efforts, Zurawik…

Public Source: The City of Pittsburgh is refusing to release emails between city employees referencing police IT contractor B-Three Solutions and its software projects, despite locating nearly 40,000 items that match keywords listed in public records requests. “In my view,” Mutchler said, “the city has failed to meet the basic tests under the Right-to-Know law. They should…

Erie Times-News: This law enables citizens to see the role of money in campaigns; bidding processes for public projects; whether government services, jobs and contracts are being dealt with an even hand, and more. That kind of information is vital to news organizations in their role as government watchdogs, but also to any engaged citizen.

The Villanova Law Review examines fifty years of operation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with its annual Norman J. Shachoy Symposium on October 20, 2017. The symposium features a group of distinguished FOIA and transparency scholars, governmental officials, and FOIA requesters and litigants engaging in a probing review of the issues as experienced on the…

HARRISBURG (JUNE 8, 2017) — Terry Mutchler, a national expert in the growing area of Transparency Law who served as the first Director of Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records, today announced the launch of a new law firm, Mutchler Lyons. Joining Mutchler in the woman-owned firm is Charlie Lyons, an attorney, seasoned public affairs professional,…