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.

UPDATE: The amended complaint can be found here.

SEATTLE — For some Seahawks fans, the Super Bowl heartbreak started before the interception.

Just hours before the Super Bowl, customers of SBTickets.com, LLC received an email announcing the company would not fulfill all its ticket orders. The company did not have the tickets it promised when it made sales to many consumers.

PORT ANGELES — A Clallam Bay Corrections Center inmate convicted of stabbing a guard was sentenced today to another five years, 10 months in prison in a case prosecuted by Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office.

Carlos Avalos was convicted Feb. 17 in Clallam County Superior Court of second-degree assault for repeatedly stabbing a corrections officer with a 4- to 5-inch metal shank. His sentence represents the top of the standard sentencing range, which was four years, five months to five years, 10 months.

OLYMPIA — Today, Attorney General Bob Ferguson joined a coalition of states in filing an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that the Constitution requires marriage equality nationwide.