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79-1188: Before being acquired by parent company CVS Health in 2008, it was a chain of over 500 stores, located primarily on the West Coast of the United States . Besides Hawaii, it had stores located in California , Nevada , Arizona , Alaska , Colorado , Oregon , Utah and Washington , and was headquartered in Walnut Creek, California . The first store was founded in 1938 as Longs Self-Service Drugs, by brothers Thomas and Joseph Long (son-in-law of Marion Barton Skaggs , co-founder of Safeway Inc. ), when they opened their first store on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California . The first Longs in Hawaii opened on March 29, 1954, in Honolulu. By 1971, Longs reported sales of $ 169 million (~$ 974 million in 2023) from its 54 stores. They were incorporated during

158-451: A "corner drugstore" similar to how many independent pharmacies evolved. Many stores have a drive-through pharmacy. Most freestanding stores have a similar look and layout, including a bigger and more spacious layout than certain stores within major cities. Newer buildings have a more modern design than older stores. Some stores in major cities, such as New York and Chicago , have multiple floors, most notably their flagship stores . Behind

237-544: A $ 29,241 fine. The New York State Attorney General announced in April 2016 that a settlement was reached in the complaint that Walgreens used misleading advertising and overcharged consumers. Walgreens would pay $ 500,000 in penalties, fees and costs, and change advertising and other practices. A judge in Kansas City, Missouri, ordered Walgreens to pay a $ 309,000 fine for pricing discrepancies in 2015. In December 2012,

316-662: A 20-store chain located in Northern California, for $ 23.9 million (~$ 45.5 million in 2023). In 1995, Longs formed Integrated Health Concepts, a Pharmacy Benefit Management company. They also closed 2 stores located in Alaska . In 1997, Longs and American Drug Stores Inc. (subsidiary of Albertson's Inc. at the time) merged their pharmacy benefit management companies to create RxAmerica, with each company retaining 50% ownership. In 1998, Longs acquired 20 Drug Emporium stores from Western Drug Distributors, Inc. 18 of

395-573: A 2019 Pew Research Center poll, 72% of adults in Pacific states said that "climate change is affecting their local community at least some", higher than in any other region in the country. Since 1992 , the three states have voted for Democrats in presidential elections without interruption, but Oregon and Washington also voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in 1988 . In the 2010s, Democrats strengthened their political power along

474-566: A 4-year-old boy, a 5-year-old girl, and their parents a full adult dosage each of the Pfizer vaccine instead of intended flu vaccine. Unlike the Maryland girl, both Indiana children immediately got sick enough that the parents took them to a pediatric cardiologist for treatment. At the time of the injections, the FDA had not approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine to children under age 12. Although Pfizer

553-638: A 45% interest in Alliance Boots . That year, Walgreens acquired Mid-South drugstore chain operating under the USA Drug , Super D Drug, May's Drug, Med-X, and Drug Warehouse banners. In 2011 Walgreens announced it would end its relationship with Express Scripts, a prescription benefits manager . A coalition of minority groups, led by Al Sharpton 's National Action Network, sent letters urging CEO Gregory Wasson to reconsider. Groups sending letters were National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference,

632-636: A Walgreens pharmacist in Baltimore, Maryland, accidentally gave a 4-year-old girl a full adult dosage of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine instead of the intended Influenza vaccine . So far, the girl has not suffered any major side effects. A Walgreens spokesperson said such mistakes are "extremely rare" and that the company's top priority is patient safety. A few weeks later, a Walgreens pharmacist in Evansville, Indiana, accidentally gave

711-491: A chain of casual family restaurants/ pancake houses called Wag's . Walgreens sold most of these to Marriott Corp. in 1988, and by 1991 the chain was out of business. In 1986, Walgreens acquired the MediMart chain from Stop & Shop. Kevin P. Walgreen was made a vice-president in 1995 and promoted to senior vice president of store operations in 2006. On July 12, 2006, David Bernauer stepped down as CEO of Walgreens and

790-567: A class action against Walgreens resulted in a settlement of $ 4.5 million. Walgreens was accused of wage theft and labor law violations of its employees in California between 2010 and 2017, including that Walgreens "rounded down employees' hours on their timecards, required employees to pass through security checks before and after their shift without compensating them for time worked, and failed to pay premium wages to employees who were denied legally required meal breaks." In September 2021,

869-738: A cost substantially higher than the widely prescribed dosage forms and then "systematically and unlawfully filled its customers' prescriptions with Par's more expensive products rather than the inexpensive dosage forms that were prescribed by physicians." In September 2012, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) accused Walgreens of endangering public safety and barred the company from shipping oxycodone and other controlled drugs from its Jupiter, Florida , distribution center. The DEA said that Walgreens failed to maintain proper controls to ensure that it did not dispense drugs to addicts and drug dealers. The DEA also said that six of Walgreens' Florida pharmacies ordered in excess of one million oxycodone pills

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948-623: A federal jury to have substantially contributed to the opioid crisis . The company said in June 2024 it would close a “significant portion” of its 8,600 U.S. locations through 2027. Walgreens began in 1901, with a small food front store on the corner of Bowen and Cottage Grove Avenues in Chicago, owned by Dixon, Illinois native Charles R. Walgreen . By 1913, Walgreens had grown to four stores on Chicago's South Side . It opened its fifth in 1915 and four more in 1916. By 1919, there were 20 stores in

1027-472: A judge ordered Walgreens to pay $ 16.57 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that over 600 stores were illegally dumping hazardous waste and unlawfully disposing of customer records containing confidential medical information. A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge allowed Walgreens to pay $ 2.25 million in January 2018 to resolve a consumer protection lawsuit brought by Bay Area prosecutors alleging that

1106-479: A lawsuit with the EEOC that claimed that a store improperly terminated a worker with diabetes for eating a package of the store's food while working to stop a hypoglycemia attack. In June 2008, after Walgreens was sued for drug fraud—"switching dosage forms on three medications without doctor approvals in order to boost profits"—it agreed to stop these actions and pay $ 35 million to the federal government, 42 states, and

1185-475: A short-story collection, Folks You Meet in Longs, and Other Stories . It is based on Cataluna's eponymous play which premiered August 2003 at Kumu Kahua Theatre . In an effort to combat Walgreens' expansion in Hawaii, CVS began a statewide expansion in 2010, with many new locations within a mile of an existing Longs Drugs. However, CVS closed two 'underperforming' stores in Honolulu in 2019. West Coast of

1264-470: A suit that included CVS and Walmart . Lawyers representing the counties said the companies were responsible for $ 3.3 billion in damages. Two other companies, Rite Aid and Giant Eagle , were also sued by the counties but settled before trial for an undisclosed amount. Wisconsin 's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection fined Walgreens over differences between shelf price and scanned price and for signage in 2012. In 2013, Walgreens paid

1343-575: A year. In contrast, in 2011 the average pharmacy in the U.S. ordered 73,000 oxycodone tablets a year according to the DEA. One Walgreens pharmacy in Fort Myers, Florida, ordered 95,800 pills in 2009, but by 2011, this number had jumped to 2.2 million pills in one year. Another example was a Walgreens pharmacy in Hudson, Florida, a town of 34,000 people near Clearwater, that purchased 2.2 million pills in 2011,

1422-430: Is considered a Democratic stronghold. Before achieving statehood in 1959, Hawaii became a state favorable to Democrats to the point that they sought statehood for the territory. Southern Democrats opposed the move because it would mean additional votes against their region on several issues. Since achieving statehood, Hawaii consistently voted for Democrats in presidential elections, except in 1972 and 1984 . Unlike

1501-520: Is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield , Illinois. On December 31, 2014, Walgreens and Switzerland-based Alliance Boots merged to form a new holding company , Walgreens Boots Alliance . Walgreens became a subsidiary of the new company, which retained its Deerfield headquarters and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol WBA. In 2021 the company was one of several pharmacy chains found by

1580-590: Is in Deerfield, Illinois . Walgreens has had a technology office in Chicago since 2010. It serves as their digital hub. In November 2010, Walgreens filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the Wegmans supermarket chain, claiming the "W" in the Wegman's logo was too similar to Walgreens's. The suit was settled in April 2011, with Wegmans agreeing to discontinue use of its "W" logo by June 2012, although

1659-628: Is part of the West Coast, along with the other four states. Encyclopædia Britannica refers to the North American region as part of the Pacific Coast, including Alaska and British Columbia . Although the encyclopedia acknowledges the inclusion of Hawaii in some capacity as part of the region, the editors wrote that "it has little in common geologically with the mainland states." Several dictionaries offer different definitions of

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1738-493: Is the 13th largest city, and Alaska's largest city, Anchorage , is 17th on the West Coast. California's history first as a major Spanish colony, and later Mexican territory, has given the lower West Coast a distinctive Hispanic American tone, which it also shares with the rest of the Southwest. Similarly, two of the three cities in which Asian Americans have concentrated, San Francisco and Los Angeles, are located on

1817-714: The San Francisco Chronicle , CVS retained the Longs Drugs name in the Hawaii stores "because of its high name recognition and the geographical separation." Before the merger, CVS had no full-service stores in Northern California or Hawaii. Although a California -based company, Longs had maintained stores in Hawaii long enough to become a local establishment. Its first Hawaii store, in downtown Honolulu , opened March 29, 1954. In 2005, Honolulu Advertiser columnist Lee Cataluna published

1896-577: The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico . Also in June 2008, Walgreens "agreed to pay $ 35 million to the U.S. and 42 states and Puerto Rico for overcharging state Medicaid programs by filling prescriptions with more expensive dosage forms of ranitidine, a generic form of Zantac, and fluoxetine, a generic form of Prozac." In 2009, Walgreens threatened to leave the Medicaid program, the state and federal partnership to provide health insurance coverage to

1975-654: The Pacific Northwest , Portland and Seattle are both considered among the coffee capitals of the world. While Starbucks originated in Seattle, both cities are known for small-scale coffee roasters and independent coffeeshops. The culture has also been significantly shaped by the environment, especially by its forests, mountains, and rain. This may account for the fact that the Northwest has many high-quality libraries and bookshops (most notably Powell's Books and

2054-613: The Pacific coast and valleys of North America and possibly by sea. Alaska Natives , Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast , and California indigenous peoples eventually descended from the Paleo-Indians . They developed various languages and established trade routes . Later, Spanish, British, French, Russian, and American explorers and settlers began colonizing the area . On May 10, 1869,

2133-626: The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in "at least two widespread schemes to overcharge" for generic drugs. The lawsuit alleges drugstore chain Walgreen and generic pharmaceutical maker Par established a partnership in which Par manufactured and/or marketed generic versions of antacid Zantac and antidepressant Prozac in dosage forms that weren't subject to private and governmental reimbursement limitations. It further said Walgreen purchased those dosage forms from Par at

2212-533: The Seattle Central Library ) and a "bibliophile soul". The region also has a marginal, but growing independence movement based on bioregionalism and a Cascadian identity. The Cascadian flag has become a popular image at Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers games. Alaska is widely known for its outdoors and its inhabitants engage in a range of activities that are unique to the state. Some of these activities can be experienced through

2291-529: The U.S. Census Bureau considers both states to be part of a larger U.S. geographic division. There are conflicting definitions of which states comprise the West Coast of the United States, but the West Coast always includes California , Oregon , and Washington as part of that definition. Under most circumstances, however, the term encompasses the three contiguous states and Alaska , as they are all located in North America. For census purposes, Hawaii

2370-470: The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Walgreens agreed to pay $ 7.9 million in a settlement. The fine related to allegations of violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act regarding beneficiaries of federal health care programs. In January 2019, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. agreed to pay more than $ 269 million to settle federal and state lawsuits that accused

2449-524: The first transcontinental railroad was completed joining the West Coast to the East of the United States. The West Coast of the United States has an oceanic climate in its Northwestern, Northern, and Eastern edge towards the U.S.-Canada border, but from Northern California, towards the U.S.-Mexico border the climate is Mediterranean . While the northern half of the west coast, particularly coastal Washington and Oregon has moderate rainfall, particularly during

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2528-409: The opioid crisis . The trial lasted six weeks with the jury returning a verdict finding the pharmacies liable. It was the first trial where pharmacy companies defended themselves amid the opioid epidemic. In May 2022, Walgreens agreed to pay a settlement of $ 683,000,000 to the state of Florida concerning opioid sales. Walgreens did not admit to wrongdoing as part of the settlement. In August 2022,

2607-529: The 2020 United States Census, 16 of the 20 largest cities on the West Coast exist in California. Los Angeles , San Diego , and San Jose , all among the top 10 most populous cities in the country, lead the West Coast in population with more than a million people in each city, with Los Angeles being nearly three times the size of San Diego's population. Behind these three cities, San Francisco , Seattle and Portland are respectively fourth, fifth and sixth in population. Hawaii's capital and largest city, Honolulu ,

2686-584: The Almus Pharmaceutical generic brand. Also that year, Walgreens acquired Farmacias Benavides . On July 28, 2016, Walgreens announced it would shut down Drugstore.com , as well as Beauty.com, to focus on its own Walgreens.com website. On September 19, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved Walgreens' fourth attempt to purchase Rite Aid, with 1,932 stores, for $ 4.38 billion. In February 2020, Walgreens announced

2765-655: The Congress of Racial Equality, Hispanic Leadership Fund and others. In 2012, Walgreens announced that it would continue to participate in Express Scripts. On September 10, 2013, Walgreens announced it had acquired Kerr Drug . In August 2014, Walgreens purchased the remaining 55% of Alliance Boots . The combined company became known as the Walgreens Boots Alliance and was headquartered in Chicago. In December of that year, Walgreens purchased

2844-475: The DEA said. Immediate suspension orders are an action taken when the DEA believes a registrant, such as a pharmacy or a doctor, is "an imminent danger to the public safety." All DEA licensees "have an obligation to ensure that medications are getting into the hands of legitimate patients," said Mark Trouville, former DEA special agent in charge of the Miami Field Division. "When they choose to look

2923-549: The Pacific Ocean to points throughout North America, and are often described as gateways to the Pacific Rim . Walgreens Walgreen Company is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States, behind CVS Health . It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, and photo services. It was founded in Chicago in 1901, and

3002-713: The United States in the United States  (tan) The West Coast of the United States , also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard , is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean . The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. states of California , Oregon , and Washington , but it occasionally includes Alaska and Hawaii in bureaucratic usage. For example,

3081-595: The West Coast begins with the arrival of the earliest known humans of the Americas, Paleo-Indians , crossing the Bering Strait from Eurasia into North America over a land bridge, Beringia , that existed between 45,000 BCE and 12,000 BCE (47,000–14,000 years ago). Small isolated groups of hunter-gatherers migrated alongside herds of large herbivores far into Alaska . Between 16,500 BCE and 13,500 BCE (18,500–15,500 years ago), ice-free corridors developed along

3160-434: The West Coast usually refers to the contiguous coastal states of California, Oregon, and Washington because of their similar political leanings. In 2017, The Oregonian columnist David Sarasohn described the West Coast as a " blue wall " of shared values on immigration , abortion , climate change , and civil liberties . By 2016, the West Coast states legalized marijuana after California voted to do so. According to

3239-428: The West Coast, with significant populations in other West Coast cities. San Francisco's Chinatown , the oldest in North America, is a noted cultural center. The West Coast also has a proportionally large share of green cities within the United States, which manifests itself in different cultural practices such as bicycling and organic gardening. Greater Los Angeles, in particular, has immense global influence due to

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3318-539: The West Coast. Lexico restricts the West Coast's definition to "the western seaboard of the U.S. from Washington to California." However, Macmillan Dictionary provides a less specific definition as "the western coast of the U.S., along the Pacific Ocean ." As for the Cambridge Dictionary , the West Coast is "the area of the Pacific coast in the U.S. that includes California." The history of

3397-460: The West Coast. After winning a special election for a seat in the Washington state senate in 2017, Democrats built a government trifecta in all three West Coast states. After the 2022 U.S. House of Representatives elections , Democrats controlled all congressional districts touching the Pacific. Hawaii is not usually considered part of the West Coast in the political definition, though it

3476-654: The appointment of Richard Ashworth as president, but he left within the year. Before the appointment, he served as president of operations for Walgreens. On June 27, 2024, Walgreens said it would close a “significant portion” of its 8,600 U.S. locations within three years as it struggled to keep up with a fast-changing retail pharmacy industry. The company said 25 percent, or around 2,150 of its stores were underperforming and would be considered for closure. It did not identify any closure locations. In October 2024, Walgreens announced plans to close 1,200 stores by 2027, with 500 closures in 2025. Walgreens's corporate headquarters

3555-469: The basic malted milk recipe by adding scoops of vanilla ice cream. The milkshake was sold at $ 0.20 and Walgreens became the place to "hang out". The next year, Walgreens began opening stores away from residential areas. In the mid-1920s, there were 44 stores with annual sales of $ 1,200,000 combined. Walgreens had also expanded by then into Minnesota , Missouri , and Wisconsin . By 1930, it had 397 stores with annual sales of $ 4,000,000. This expansion partly

3634-464: The business combination. On September 12, 2008, the Walgreen Co. stepped in with an offer representing a $ 3.50 (~$ 5.00 in 2023) per share premium over the cash purchase price offered by CVS. However, Walgreens dropped their offer on October 8, allowing CVS' deal to progress. On October 29, CVS had secured 78.07% of Longs shares, and Longs was merged into CVS the next day on October 30. According to

3713-417: The chain until his retirement. The Charles R. Walgreen Jr. years were relatively prosperous but lacked the massive expansion seen in the early part of the century. In 1946, Walgreens purchased Sanborns , one of Mexico 's largest pharmacy and department store chains, from Frank Sanborn (Walgreens sold Sanborns to Grupo Carso in 1982). Charles "Cork" R. Walgreen III took over after Walgreen Jr.'s retirement in

3792-459: The chain. As a result of alcohol prohibition , the 1920s were a successful time for Walgreens. Although alcohol was illegal, Walgreens sold prescription whiskey. This prescribed alcohol was sold at inflated price, which was much higher than the pricing at the bathtub or the speakeasy. In 1922, the company introduced a malted milkshake , which led to its establishing ice cream manufacturing plants. A Walgreens employee named Ivar Coulson modified

3871-432: The coast. Interstate travel is also served by roads such as Interstate 5 , the main high-speed north–south freeway along the West Coast. Interstate 5 follows the coast only as far north as Dana Point, California , before turning inland for much of its route. The main coastal scenic route throughout most of California is California State Route 1 . From the end of SR 1 at Leggett, California , U.S. Route 101 serves as

3950-954: The coastline, and could partially be explained by the cold currents in the Pacific Ocean moderating coastal temperatures and the mountain ranges blocking the maritime air from moving farther inland than its foothills during summer. Coastal fog is also prevalent in keeping shoreline temperatures cool. While famous in the San Francisco Bay Area , coastal fog also affects Santa Monica in Los Angeles , Southern California , leading to May gray and June gloom conditions. Coastal California has very little yearly temperature differences with cool summers similar to those expected in parts of Northern Europe in San Francisco but warmer temperatures year-round further south. A short journey inland and summer temperatures are comparable with

4029-456: The company sold expired baby food, infant formula, and over-the-counter drugs. The suit also alleged that Walgreens violated state law by charging more than the lowest posted or advertised price for items. In June 2018, a staff pharmacist at a Walgreens in Peoria, Arizona , refused to give a woman medication to end her pregnancy. The medication was prescribed by a doctor after tests revealed that

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4108-644: The corporation of overbilling federal healthcare programs. In September 2024, it agreed to another $ 106 million to settle whistleblower claims it billed federal programs for prescriptions that were temporarily bottled, but never picked up by patients. Walgreens was named in a lawsuit by the United Food and Commercial Workers Unions and Employers Midwest Health Benefits Fund in the Northern District Court of Illinois in January 2012. The suit alleged that Walgreens and Par Pharmaceutical violated

4187-477: The early 1950s and modernized the company by switching to barcode scanning. The company also created larger-sized Walgreens Superstores and purchased the Globe Discount City chain of big-box stores from United Mercantile, Inc. in the 1960s. The Walgreen family was not involved in senior management of the company for a short time after Walgreen III retired. In the 1980s Walgreens owned and operated

4266-511: The federal and 39 state governments in over-billing schemes. In February 2020, Walgreens agreed to pay $ 7.5 million to settle a consumer protection lawsuit accusing the company of placing people's health at risk by permitting an unlicensed person to work as a pharmacist without an adequate background check. This person had handled over 745,000 prescriptions and filled over 100,000 prescriptions for controlled substances. The State of California, Alameda County, and Santa Clara County all took part in

4345-553: The first time in the history of Longs Drugs that a member of the founding family was not involved in the company. In 2004 Longs acquired Sacramento, California -based American Diversified Pharmacies (ADP), a mail order pharmacy. On January 1, 2006, RxAmerica began offering Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In June 2006, Longs purchased 21 retail pharmacies, from Network Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The Network pharmacies are located close to

4424-511: The front registers are tobacco products and alcoholic beverages . Some stores do not sell these products, e.g., New Jersey stores that do not sell alcohol and Massachusetts stores that do not sell tobacco. In March 2008, Walgreens settled a lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that alleged the company discriminated against African Americans for $ 24 million. The settlement

4503-481: The investigation. When it was asked by the California Board of Pharmacy during the investigation, Walgreens was unable to furnish a copy of her employment application. Although there are records that the person had attended classes in a university pharmacy program, there are no records that she had completed her degree requirements that would allow her to take the pharmacist licensing exams. In March 2021,

4582-469: The main scenic route along the coast in far Northern California, Oregon, and Washington state. Sierra High Route is a popular trekking route. Several of the most important international airports in the United States are located along the West Coast, including Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , San Francisco International Airport , and Los Angeles International Airport . Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles all connect numerous destinations around

4661-437: The operator of the national CVS/pharmacy chain of drugstores. CVS bought the 521 Longs locations to expand its presence on the West Coast, primarily in California. The acquisition also included access to the Hawaii market. CVS Health paid a total of $ 2.54 billion to acquire all outstanding shares of Longs Drugs, and hoped to save upwards of $ 100 million in 2009 and $ 140–$ 150 million in 2010 in expenses from synergies attained from

4740-399: The other West Coast states, Alaska has been a reliable state for Republicans in presidential elections. Since achieving statehood, Alaska has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate only once in 1964 . In 1960 , the state narrowly voted for Republican Richard Nixon over Democrat John F. Kennedy and had voted for Republicans uninterrupted since 1968 . According to the results of

4819-412: The other way, patients suffer and drug dealers prosper." The Jupiter, Florida, distribution center, which opened in 2001, is one of 12 such distribution centers owned by Walgreens. Since 2009, Walgreens' Jupiter facility has been Florida's largest distributor of oxycodone, the DEA said. Over the past three years, its market share has increased, and 52 Walgreens are among the top 100 oxycodone purchasers in

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4898-671: The point of care (such as hospitals, clinics, and medical office buildings), and were much smaller than Long's traditional retail stores. Longs also purchased 4 stores from PharMerica , Inc., a subsidiary of AmerisourceBergen Corporation . By 2008, CVS/pharmacy acquired Longs Drugs, and rebranded all pharmacies outside Hawaii by the summer of the following year. In 2011, CVS closed the 90,000 sq ft (8,400 m) flagship superstore on 5100 Broadway in Oakland, CA, due to property redevelopment plans. On August 12, 2008, Longs Drugs announced that they were being acquired by CVS Health ,

4977-520: The poor, in Delaware over reimbursement rates. Walgreens was the largest pharmacy chain in the state and the only chain to make such a threat. The state of Delaware and Walgreens reached an agreement on payment rates and the crisis was averted. In 2010, Walgreens stopped accepting Medicaid in Washington state, leaving its one million Medicaid recipients unable to use Medicaid to pay for their prescriptions filled at these 121 stores. On April 20, 2012,

5056-635: The pregnancy would end in a miscarriage. The woman said she was left "in tears and humiliated". Walgreens responded that its policy "allows pharmacists to step away from filling a prescription for which they have a moral objection". In September 2018, Walgreens agreed to pay $ 34.5 million to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation on charges of misleading investors on financial targets. The SEC alleged that former CEO Greg Wasson and then-CFO Wade Miquelon acted "negligently" in giving financial estimates. In January 2019, Walgreens paid $ 269.2 million for two separate counts of defrauding

5135-455: The presence of the Hollywood film industry , and is considered the creative capital of the world due to the proportion of its population involved in the entertainment industry. Meanwhile, parts of the San Francisco Bay Area are also known as Silicon Valley , due to the tremendous presence of software companies in the area, including tech giants like Apple , Meta , and Alphabet Inc . In

5214-621: The rest of the United States on the same latitudes, sometimes warmer due to prevailing winds from the Nevada and Arizona hot desert climate . With the exception of Alaska , the Democratic Party has dominated West Coast politics in contemporary history, with the states consistently voting for Democrats in elections at various levels. Four out of five West Coast states have voted for Democrats in presidential elections since 1992 , three of which have done so since 1988 . In politics,

5293-565: The same year. The company expanded to Alaska in 1977, Arizona and Oregon in 1978, and Nevada in 1979. By 1982, Longs had 162 stores and exceeded $ 1 billion (~$ 2.67 billion in 2023) in sales. In 1987, Longs acquired 11 Osco drugstores in California and one in Colorado . They also sold 15 stores in Arizona to Osco. Their sales passed $ 2 billion (~$ 4.12 billion in 2023) for the first time in 1990. In 1993, Longs purchased Bill's Drugs,

5372-528: The state of Tennessee sued Walgreens, alleging that the pharmacy fueled the state's opioid epidemic by failing to maintain effective controls against abuse of the prescription painkiller. The lawsuit claims that Walgreens willfully flooded the market with an oversupply of prescription narcotics in violation of public nuisance and consumer protection laws. In August 2022, a federal judge in Cleveland awarded $ 650 million to Lake County and Trumbull County in

5451-701: The state's annual events, such as the Iron Dog snowmobile race from Anchorage to Nome and on to Fairbanks . Other events include the World Ice Art Championships (Fairbanks) and the Sitka Whalefest ( Sitka ). The Coast Starlight is the main interstate passenger railroad route provided by Amtrak along the coast. BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad own and operate railroads that connect cities on

5530-489: The state, the DEA said. In 2013, United States Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said Walgreens committed "an unprecedented number" of recordkeeping and dispensing violations. Walgreens was fined $ 80 million, the largest fine in the history of the Controlled Substances Act at that time. In November 2021, a federal jury found that Walgreens, along with CVS and Walmart , "had substantially contributed to"

5609-681: The stores were located in western Washington and two in the Portland, Oregon . Rite Aid sold Longs 32 stores located in California for $ 150 million (~$ 258 million in 2023) in October 1999, which itself were former PayLess Drug locations since 1998. On September 17, 2001, Longs exercised its option to acquire Albertson's interest in RxAmerica and established full ownership of the PBM. In 2003, Bob Long stepped down as Chairman and CEO, marking

5688-477: The supermarket retained the right to use the "Wegmans" name in script. According to Jo Natale, Wegmans director of media relations, "The cost of making relatively minor changes to a limited number of products was much less than the cost of litigating this case to the end." In the summer of 2014, a corporate relocation to Switzerland was considered as part of a merger with Alliance Boots, a European drugstore chain. This drew controversy as many consumers felt that it

5767-466: The winter months, much of coastal California is drier year-round. The coastline sees significantly milder temperatures compared to inland areas during summer. In far Northern California there is a difference of 17 °C (30 °F) between Eureka and Willow Creek in spite of only 25 miles (40 km) separating the locations and Willow Creek being located at a 500 metres (1,600 ft) elevation. Slightly narrower fluctuations can be seen all through

5846-541: Was an attempt at tax inversion . On August 5, 2014, Walgreens announced that it would not relocate its headquarters. As of June 2023, the company operated almost 9,000 stores in the US. It announced it was closing 150 locations in the US (plus 300 in the UK) at the end of the month. In its 2009 business model, Walgreens are freestanding corner stores, with the entrance on the street with the most traffic flow , figuratively making it

5925-494: Was attributed to selling prescribed alcohol, mainly whiskey, which Walgreen often stocked under the counter, as accounted in Daniel Okrent's Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition . The stock market crash in October 1929 and subsequent Great Depression did not greatly affect the company. By 1934, Walgreens was operating 601 stores in 30 states. After Walgreen died in 1939, his son Charles R. Walgreen Jr. took over

6004-399: Was in the process of seeking approval for use in children ages five to 11 with the dosage that would be one third that for an adult, it had not asked permission to vaccinate children age four or younger. Walgreens refused to comment on the case when requested by news media. In January 2023, Walgreens, in addition to CVS , announced their intentions to start dispensing mifepristone , one of

6083-645: Was replaced by Alan G. McNally as chairman and acting CEO. On January 26, 2009, Gregory Wasson was named CEO effective February 1, 2009. In 2010, Walgreens acquired New York City-area chain Duane Reade for $ 1.075 billion, including debt, and continued to use the Duane Reade name on some stores in the New York City metropolitan area. In March 2011, Walgreens acquired Drugstore.com for $ 409 million. On June 19, 2012, Walgreens paid $ 6.7 billion for

6162-536: Was replaced by company president Jeff Rein , who was later named chief executive officer and chairman of the board . That year, Walgreens acquired the Happy Harry's chain in Delaware , Pennsylvania , Maryland , and New Jersey . In 2007, Walgreens acquired Hal Rosenbluth's Take Care Health Systems, a chain of quick-care clinics, for an undisclosed amount. On October 10, 2008, Rein abruptly quit as CEO and

6241-468: Was split between the 10,000 African-American employees of the company. In the agreement, Walgreens avoided any admission of guilt. The decree, one of the largest monetary settlements in a race case by the EEOC, provides for the payment of over $ 24 million to a class of thousands of African American workers and orders comprehensive injunctive relief designed to improve the company's promotion and store assignment practices. In September 2011, Walgreens settled

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