SEATTLE -- Washington joined 21 other states and territories, the District of Columbia and federal regulators today in formally opposing the proposed merger of the country's two main satellite television services.

In papers filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the states and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division argue that allowing the merger of EchoStar, parent company of DishTV, and Hughes Electronics, owner of DirecTV, would result in a company with virtual monopoly control over the satellite television market.

OLYMPIA -- The Attorney General's Office is prepared to ask a federal administrative law judge Monday to allow Washington energy utilities to negotiate refunds for overpriced electricity charged by wholesale power generators and distributors.

High prices for wholesale power are partly to blame for recent dramatic increases in retail power rates charged to companies and consumers by local utilities in Washington and other states.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire told a Senate Committee here today that the energy issue is a "west-wide" problem that "is not just about legalities and economic theories, but about the day-to-day lives of people, our businesses, our schools and our environment."

OLYMPIA -- Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire confirmed today that her office is investigating allegations that there may be price manipulation and unfair business practices behind the region's energy crisis.

Gregoire said the investigation will look into possible violations of the state's antitrust and consumer protection laws. " We want to make sure Washington consumers and utilities are not being charged unfair rates," she said.

OLYMPIA -- A former Whatcom County dairy farmer received a two-year suspended sentence May 3 for illegally dumping manure into a tributary of Anderson Creek, about 20 miles east of Bellingham.

Carl Post, 66, pleaded guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court to two counts of criminally violating the Washington Water Pollution Control Act. The charges were filed by the Washington Attorney General and the Whatcom County Prosecutor.

In addition to the two-year suspended jail sentence, Superior Court Judge Michael F. Moynihan sentenced Post to pay a $5,000 criminal fine.

SEATTLE -- The Attorney General's High-Tech Unit, which was created to battle crime and fraud on the Internet, has achieved a victory by forcing a Kitsap County-based website to stop pitching illegal pyramid and Ponzi schemes.

SEATTLE -- An agreement involving Washington and nine other states will require the nation's leading Internet-advertising service to better inform consumers when the company gathers information about the web-surfing activities of Internet users, Attorney General Christine Gregoire said today.

SEATTLE -- Attorney General Christine Gregoire has filed a lawsuit against a Canadian telemarketer for allegedly violating state and federal laws by sending thousands of recorded sales pitches to Washington residents.

"This company broke about every consumer law we have," said Gregoire. "The product is illegal. The sales pitch is illegal. And the promises they made were deceptive."

OLYMPIA -- A former Skagit County dairy farmer was sentenced to four days in jail after pleading guilty to four counts of violating the Washington Water Pollution Control Act for illegally dumping manure into a nearby drainage ditch.

SEATTLE -- The Attorney General today filed a lawsuit in Federal Court to stop a Georgia-based telemarketer from using deceptive prize promotions to "hook" Washington consumers into buying magazine subscriptions.

The Washington action is part of a nationwide crackdown on deceptive prize promotion schemes by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 16 states. Fifty-six lawsuits were filed in the crackdown, which named 79 defendants located in 17 states and Canada.