Judge stops expansion of California hospital

A judge has ordered San Fernando Valley-based Providence Holy Cross Medical Center to halt construction on its $180-million expansion until the Los Angeles City Council reconsiders the project and decides whether more environmental review is needed. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas I. McKnew Jr. said the hospital must stop work until the council either approves the project with an eight-vote majority or orders an environmental impact report on the project. Attorney Ted Franklin, who represents groups challenging the hospital expansion, urged the council to demand the extra environmental review, a process that typically takes at least a year.