[naviga:h3]Marijuana program director chosen[/naviga:h3]

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s medical-marijuana program has a new director.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration introduced John Collins on Thursday as head of the state Office of Medical Marijuana.

Collins will oversee the state’s budding medical-marijuana program, including cultivation and distribution regulations. He starts on Monday.

Collins was chief operating officer at a Florida-based pharmacy company from June 2010 to August 2013.

He joined the state’s health department in April. He serves as an assistant administrator in the Division of HIV Disease.

State health secretary Karen Murphy says Collins was chosen because of his commitment and passion at the department and executive work.

Collins has no prior involvement with medical marijuana. He says his experience in a “heavily regulated medical enterprise” will help him in his new role.

[naviga:h3]Nurses at hospital in Beaver plan strike[/naviga:h3]

BEAVER — Nurses at the Heritage Valley Beaver hospital in western Pennsylvania have rejected management’s latest contract offer and plan to strike for three days later this month.

The hospital’s 500 nurses went on strike for one day, July 19, after negotiations earlier that month failed to yield a new contract.

The Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania union is upset because the hospital wants to raise health care premiums for nurses. Similar moves by companies have been spurred by the federal Affordable Care Act.

But the union says the hospital is profitable and shouldn’t put the extra costs on them and they’ll strike beginning Aug. 23.

The hospital has said the health coverage was fair and that nurses can get “100 percent coverage” if they use the health system’s facilities.