OLYMPIA -04/05/02 - Attorney General Christine Gregoire said today Brown and Williamson Tobacco Company, the nation's third largest cigarette manufacturer, has agreed to pay 52 states and territories approximately $204 million that it withheld from payments due in January.

Washington's share will be about $4 million, which would push the April tobacco company payment to about $111 million.

Brown and Williamson disputed the validity of industry-wide figures, which form the basis for calculating payments to states under the Master Settlement Agreement.

SEATTLE - The Attorney General's Office today warned residents of the Seattle area and Southwest Washington to be wary of lottery scam artists who are using unfair and high-pressure sales tactics on vulnerable elderly citizens.

Olympia - Washington State today filed suit against two on-line companies for selling cigarettes to minors, according to Attorney General Christine Gregoire.

The suits allege that Cyco.net, Inc., based in New Mexico and S4L Distributing, Inc., based in Virginia, have continued selling cigarettes online to minors after being warned last fall by several states, including Washington, that minors were able to purchase products from their websites.

OLYMPIA- March 31, 1997 - State Attorney General Christine Gregoire said today she will go to court this week to get sensitive tobacco company documents deposited in King County Superior Court. Review of these documents by the court is the first step in their release to the state's legal team.

OLYMPIA - 3/28/02 - Attorney General Christine Gregoire said today a new report shows that the state should continue to provide adequate funding for anti-smoking efforts as a means to reduce the state's Medicaid costs.

SEATTLE - Feb. 7, 2002 - With as many as 94 percent of Americans concerned about possible misuse of personal information, the business community has a strong interest in promoting consumer privacy policies that bolster consumer confidence.

The Attorney General's Office today warned consumers throughout Washington that charity scams have gotten an early jump on the holiday giving season. Consumers in the Seattle area are currently being called by "Operation Holidays - Set the Table Food Basket Drive," which asks for donations to buy gifts for holiday baskets they claim will be distributed by Northwest Harvest and Seattle Emergency Housing.

Olympia - March 27, 2001 - A new Surgeon General's report on women and smoking underscores the need for effective anti-smoking efforts to counter the tobacco industry's marketing to women and girls, Attorney General Christine Gregoire said today.

TACOMA -3/28/02 - U.S. District Court Judge Franklin Burgess today ruled that the blanket primary, used in Washington since 1936 to determine major candidates on the state general-election ballot, is constitutional.

The judge's decision came in a case initially filed in July 2000 by the state's Democratic Party, which was quickly joined by the Republican and Libertarian parties. Burgess granted a summary judgment motion filed by the state asking the court to dismiss the case.

Olympia - March 23, 1998 - Washington Attorney General Chris Gregoire said new figures released by the White House today indicate passage of a comprehensive tobacco bill by Congress could cut the number of teen smokers in Washington by 48,000 over the next five years.

Since about one out of three teens who smoke will die a premature death, the comprehensive tobacco bill is predicted to save about 16,000 Washington children from dying an early death.