HARRISBURG — A state judge ruled Friday that a first-term state representative from Lackawanna County cannot be on the ballot because he misrepresented his address on his nominating petitions.

The 35-page decision from Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer bars Democrat Frank Andrews Shimkus from competing in the April 22 primary.

Shimkus said he will appeal to the Supreme Court and, if necessary, mount a write-in campaign for another two-year term.

"I was elected overwhelmingly, I think this is baloney and I'm going to make sure the voters have the right to choose," he said in an interview.

Three people filed the challenge, contending Shimkus falsely provided the address of an empty house owned by his daughter and son-in-law.

Shimkus wanted to avoid drawing attention to the fact he lived in another house with his fiancee, who is 30 years his junior, their challenge said.

According to court documents, Shimkus said he stayed at the empty house one or two nights a week, and moved in with his fiancee only recently.

Both houses are in the district, about a mile from each other, Shimkus said.

BROCKWAY — Pennsylvania's highest-ranking state senator, Joe Scarnati, expects to return to Harrisburg next week after surgery to remove pappilary thyroid cancer.The surgery has left the 46-year-old Scarnati with a 4-inch incision near his Adam's apple.But Scarnati, who underwent the operation on March 5, said doctors told him they removed all of the cancer.Doctors discovered the cancer in December during a routine physical exam.Scarnati, a Jefferson County Republican, said his mother had the same operation 11 years ago, and recovered completely.He was first elected in 2000 and became the Senate's president pro tempore last year.

PITTSBURGH — Duquesne University officials say a ticking care package sent to a student was anything but music to their ears for a few hours.The package forced the Pittsburgh police bomb squad to close Rockwell Hall — which houses the campus mailroom and its school of business — until the package could be inspected Friday.Turns out, the package included a metronome, which somehow began tick-tocking during shipping. The package also included food and medicine.A metronome is used by musicians to keep time.