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WV: Lawsuit Leads to Tax Holiday
Last Updated on Monday, 23 June 2008 10:34 Written by rslcpol Monday, 23 June 2008 10:04
Oh this kind of thing sucks if you’re not the incumbent Democrat A.G. This is probably the kind of thing Republican nominee Dan Greear didn’t want to happen, but was probably expecting. This is not going to be the last handout from McGraw’s office between now and the election. The word on the street is that nearly $4 million of this settlement is going to wind up in the pockets of 4 private law firms, and $600,000 will be deposited into the accounts of McGraw’s consumer protection fund – no doubt money spent to protect consumers, and not promote the McGraw name in West Virginia during an election year. From the Times West Virginia:
From Sept. 1-7, Energy Star qualified products will be exempt from the 6 percent state sales tax.
Approximately $11.6 million in settlement money from a lawsuit is providing this sales tax relief for West Virginians, said Frances Hughes, chief deputy for Attorney General Darrell McGraw’s office.
The West Virginia Office of the Attorney General filed a case in 2003 against MasterCard International Inc. and Visa U.S.A. Inc. under West Virginia’s antitrust and consumer protection laws.
The office alleged that an illegal tying arrangement between the companies’ debit and credit cards caused increased costs to merchants that were passed on to consumers in higher prices over all retail products. The attorney general’s office wanted Visa and Mastercard, which deny the allegations, to provide some sort of relief to consumers for their conduct.
In January, the attorney general’s office received preliminary approval of a court settlement from Judge Ron Wilson in Ohio County, and legislation was required in order to implement it.
Posted under Attorney General News | 1 Comment
WV: GOP Picks Their AG Candidate
Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 May 2008 03:31 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 14 May 2008 09:00
Congratulations to West Virginia Republican attorney general nominee Dan Greear on his 12 point victory. From the Charleston Daily Mail:
“I’m very happy with this win and I look forward to building on it and going into the fall,” Greear said.
Lewis did not respond to a telephone call.
During the campaign, both candidates have seized upon controversy that has swirled around McGraw’s office for years over the incumbent’s spending of settlement money without legislative oversight and perceived ambush-style way of bringing lawsuits against businesses.
Greear, 39, said he intends to keep hammering on those issues heading into the general election.
Posted under Attorney General News | No Comments
WV: A Closer Look At GOP AG Candidates
Last Updated on Friday, 9 May 2008 10:35 Written by rslcpol Friday, 9 May 2008 09:35
From WVPubcast News:
Two Republican candidates are competing to see who will run against incumbent Attorney General Darrell McGraw in November. Emily Corio has more.
Corio: Both Hiram Lewis and Dan Greear are clear in their opposition to current Attorney General Darrell McGraw. They both agree McGraw is bad for business—they cite the lawsuits he’s filed against companies for unfair business practices. But Lewis and Greear say its McGraw who’s unfair. At a debate last month, Lewis was asked to cite an example.
Lewis: There’s one in New Martinsville right now, Wetzel County. He sued a funeral home, Iams Funeral Home in Wetzel County.
Corio: He spoke at length about how Iams Funeral Home was mistreated, and then the moderator asked this question.
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WV: GOP AG Primary Candidate Racks Up Key Endorsements
Last Updated on Thursday, 1 May 2008 11:05 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 1 May 2008 10:46
wvrecord.com:
CHARLESTON – Dan Greear has raked in more key endorsements.
In the past few days, the Republican candidate for state Attorney General has been endorsed by the Charleston Daily Mail, The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, the West Virginia Business Industry Council and the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
Greear and Hiram Lewis are seeking the Republican nomination in the May 13 primary. The winner of that race will face incumbent Democrat Darrell McGraw in the general election.
In its editorial endorsement of Greear, the Daily Mail wrote that Greear “most clearly articulates how McGraw has misused the office, is the strongest candidate, and who would take the office in a direction that better serves West Virginia.”
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WV AG Update: What’s the sound of one candidate debating?
Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 April 2008 02:35 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 30 April 2008 02:35
Lucky for you – you can find out here. There are two Republicans competing in the West Virginia Republican Primary for the chance to face off against Democrat incumbent A.G. Darrell McGraw. One is Republican Hiram Lewis, and the other is Republican Dan Greear. You can view the debate hosted by West Virginia Public Broadcasting right here. Please note: the RSLC is not endorsing any candidate in the primary contest.
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WV AG Compares National Business Group to Hitler
Last Updated on Thursday, 24 April 2008 04:56 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 24 April 2008 04:40
Yes he did. West Virginia’s Democrat A.G. Darrell McGraw has just crossed a well marked line in political, and public discourse.
“I do subscribe to the idea that the means and methods the National Chamber uses to influence public opinion are like those Hitler used,” McGraw said while being interviewed in his state Capitol office. “Exaggeration and propaganda of all sorts.”
The regional director of the Anti-Defamation League called McGraw’s comments “appalling.”
“To compare the tactics of the Chamber to those of Hitler are not only offensive, but it shows a profound lack of understanding for who Hitler was, what he stood for and what tragedies his regime perpetrated,” said Shari Kochman, regional director of the Ohio/Kentucky/Allegheny region of the ADL. “There’s no parallel in history. None. And whenever there is any comparison to Hitler, it diminishes the history and the memory of the 6 million Jewish people and the 5 million people of other ethnicities who perished under his regime. It also insults the memory of those fought bravely against Hitler.
In this case, you don’t even have to ask where’s the outrage? Instead folks should be asking – where’s the commonsense? How out of touch, or insensitive, or tone deaf is this guy? You MUST expect better, more rational, more educated commentary and analysis from people entrusted with so much responsibility.
Instead of spinning, Mr. McGraw should just apologize – profusely – and get as far away from this latest – colossal – misstep as soon as possible.
You must read West Virginia Record’s coverage of this beauty – don’t just take our word for it.
Sorry West Virginia – he’s yours until November.
Posted under Blog | 2 Comments
WV: GOP AG Candidate Wants To Scale Back The Office
Last Updated on Monday, 21 April 2008 03:06 Written by rslcpol Monday, 21 April 2008 10:15
You can learn about Republican A.G. candidate Dan Greear here, and Republican A.G. candidate Hiram Lewis here.
One of two Republican candidates for West Virginia attorney general sees a need to scale back that office. Dan Greear said Saturday that he would refocus on serving as a lawyer for state agencies.Greear spoke at Saturday’s annual meeting of The Associated Press’ broadcast members. He faulted the incumbent, Democrat Darrell McGraw, for acting like a policymaker when that job is for the Legislature and governor.
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Is This Called Fishing for Business? (Video)
Last Updated on Thursday, 6 March 2008 05:36 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 6 March 2008 05:33
Is West Virginia Democrat A.G. Darrell McGraw using trial lawyer tactics to drum up business for his office? See what we mean here and here. These ads kind of take the whole concept of personal responsibility OUT of the equation.
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Talk of Dem AG Hood Inspired ‘Sunshine’ Law In West Virginia
Last Updated on Tuesday, 4 March 2008 03:36 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 4 March 2008 01:37
Usually it’s consumer issues, and other things that jump state lines, but this time it’s ethics. You never want your name linked to a sunshine law in a negative way. Doesn’t test well at all.
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse thinks West Virginia’s Legislature should emulate a sunshine law geared towards state contracts given by the Attorney General’s office that is working its way through the Mississippi system.”Both houses in the Magnolia State passed a sunshine measure to govern their attorney general’s activities, and the House bill passed on a roll call of 199-1,” said Steve Cohen, Executive Director of CALA. “Attorney General Darrell McGraw should be subject to the same accountability.
Posted under Attorney General News, Dems Behaving Badly | No Comments
WV: AG Says Company Had Say In Settlement Fund Use
Last Updated on Friday, 29 February 2008 01:13 Written by rslcpol Friday, 29 February 2008 01:13
CHARLESTON, W. Va. – It wasn’t just West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw’s idea to spend $10 million from a 2004 settlement the way it was spent, his office recently said.
The controversial amount, which has sparked disputes between McGraw and the state’s Legislature, and the State and the federal Medicaid agency, has been dished out by McGraw ever since he and Purdue Pharma reached an agreement to settle the State’s OxyContin lawsuit.
Posted under Attorney General News | 1 Comment