Washington, D.C. -November 16, 1998 - A historic settlement proposal, that mandates the most significant legal reform in the tobacco industry and the largest financial recovery in the nation's history, was negotiated and released today by a team of eight Attorneys General.

Olympia - October 13, 1999- Whether passage of Initiative 695 in November would subject motor vehicles to the state's personal property tax is a question that will have to be settled by the courts or the Legislature, an informal Attorney General's opinion released today concludes.

OLYMPIA -- As the national tobacco settlement reached another significant milestone today, Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire said tobacco payments should arrive in state coffers within two weeks and that there are encouraging signs of a dramatic decline in total consumption of cigarettes.

The tobacco settlement, which was announced last November, reached final approval status today. That means the agreement has completed a legal appeal process and been formally court approved in at least 45 jurisdictions.

December 31, 1996--Attorney General Christine Gregoire and state and federal recovery agencies are warning storm-stricken Washington residents not to fall victim to scams while repairing and recovering from the recent storms.

"As the snow melts and the waters recede, scam artists often descend into a heavy-hit storm area," said Gregoire. "They take advantage of people with innocent-sounding offers of help."

SEATTLE - February 17, 1999 - An Issaquah man who falsely claimed the proceeds from the sale of discount coupon books would be used to help local troubled and homeless youth, then used the funds to support himself and his own children, has been closed down by the Attorney General's Office.

Peter Militello of Issaquah allegedly recruited and used local high school students to sell the coupon books offering discounts to restaurants and businesses in Issaquah and Renton. Many of those business had never been contacted by Militello and offered no discounts.

 OLYMPIA -- Washington and 15 other states today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Michigan alleging that four drug manufacturers illegally conspired to keep a cheaper, generic form of a widely prescribed heart medication off the market for at least a year.

     According to the complaint, drug manufacturers Aventis (formerly Hoechst Marion Roussel), Andrx and others manipulated laws intended to encourage competition and ease the entry of cheaper generic drugs into the market.

Olympia -11/10/03- Major tobacco companies have agreed to remove cigarette and smokeless tobacco advertisements from the editions of Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report that are sent into classrooms for use by students, according to Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

Gregoire welcomed the move by Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Philip Morris USA Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.

Olympia - Washington has received $1.295 million as part of two national settlements resolving disputed payments from tobacco manufacturers, according to Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

The first settlement resolves a dispute between the states that are parties to the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) and Premier Manufacturing, Inc. of Missouri over whether the firm had paid the states in full for all the cigarettes it manufactured.

SPOKANE – Attorney General Rob McKenna warned consumers today to be wary of callers who claim you have won a gift certificate from a local business, and then ask for personal account information to withdraw a fee.

OLYMPIA - Attorney General Rob McKenna said today he was pleased Senate Bill 5735, the Public Disclosure Act legislation he requested, was approved by the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee, despite his concern about an amendment added by the committee.

McKenna said he was not supportive, however, of new language that would expand too broadly the attorney-client privilege exemption included in the bill.