Geisinger restricts young visitors
SCRANTON - Geisinger Health Systems is barring visitors 12 and younger from the inpatient floors because of the influx of severe flu cases.
The restriction is system-wide, affecting all Geisinger hospitals, including Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton.
The restriction is temporary but will remain in place until either the threat of flu has passed or returned to seasonal levels, according to Geisinger officials.
State forest adds 207 acres
HARRISBURG - The Lackawanna State Forest is adding a 207-acre tract of forest in Luzerne County, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced Tuesday.
The addition, which was purchased from Earth Conservancy for $163,000, will bring the Lackawanna State Forest to nearly 30,000 acres. The added forest is located on the south side of Larksville Mountain, north of Plymouth.
"This acquisition will expand the conserved forested tracts in this region; increase the supply of high quality forest products to local markets; and add to the recreational opportunities for our visitors to enjoy," DCNR secretary Richard Allan said in a press release.
Prosecutors asking for new judge
WILKES-BARRE - Prosecutors moved Tuesday to bar Magisterial District Judge James E. Tupper from presiding over a second preliminary hearing for teen murder suspect Cody Lee, saying the judge "would likely" again rule to dismiss the case.
State police rearrested Mr. Lee last Friday on the same open count of homicide after Judge Tupper ruled prosecutors had not met a fundamental burden to show Mr. Lee, now 19, knowingly, willfully or recklessly shot and killed his great-grandfather, Herbert Lee, in December 2009.
Judge Tupper had been scheduled to hold the second preliminary hearing Thursday, but prosecutors filed court documents Tuesday asking Luzerne County's top judge to assign a different judge to the case.
Prosecutors argued in their filing Tuesday that Judge Tupper ignored evidence that exceeded the low burden of proof required for a magisterial district judge to forward a case to trial.