$1,000 penalty; $1 for costs and fees per Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s request

SEATTLE — A Benton County Superior Court judge ruled today that a Richland florist will pay a $1,000 penalty and $1 in costs and fees to the state for discriminating against a same-sex couple seeking to buy wedding flowers in 2013.

Nebraska and Oklahoma challenging Colorado legalization initiative

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a “friend of the court” brief today in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the court to reject a challenge to Colorado’s marijuana laws. If the court takes up the case, it could threaten not just Colorado’s law, but also the regulatory structure for marijuana established by Initiative 502 in Washington state.

PORT ORCHARD — A Kitsap County jury has decided that repeat sex offender Rick Allen Monroe is a sexually violent predator and must be confined in the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

In the interest of public safety, prosecutors from Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Sexually Violent Predator Unit have been fighting since October 2009, to prevent Monroe’s release into the community.

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson will testify before the House Finance Committee tomorrow regarding his agency-request bill to raise the smoking age.

House Bill 1458 passed the House Health Care & Wellness Committee in a bipartisan 12-3 vote on Feb. 17, and was referred to the Finance Committee.

SPOKANE —The Washington Attorney General’s Office filed a petition last week in Spokane County Superior Court seeking to civilly commit a sex offender and prevent his release into the community.

Travis Fields, 37, was convicted of two sexually violent offenses: attempted first-degree child molestation in 1993, and second-degree child molestation in 2008. Fields was sentenced to seven years, three months in prison for the 2008 conviction.

OLYMPIA — Premera/Blue Cross today announced it has been the target of a major data breach.

The breach affected Premera Blue Cross, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska, and its affiliated companies, Vivacity and Connexion Insurance Solutions, Inc. It impacts millions of individuals in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

Seattle landlord accused of consumer protection violations

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson has appointed Senior Counsel Karin Nyrop as the new chief of his office’s University of Washington (UW) Division.  The division provides legal services to the university, which includes campuses in Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma as well as the UW Medical Center. 

“The University of Washington will be well served by Karin’s impressive combination of legal expertise, leadership experience, personal achievements and demonstrated commitment to public service,” said Ferguson. 

Scientific report boosts AG-request legislation to keep tobacco out of the hands of Washington youth

Legal position, upheld by multiple courts, eliminates federal threat to initiative

SEATTLE — The Attorney General’s Office filed a response brief yesterday in the Washington State Supreme Court defending the will of the voters in enacting Initiative 502.