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Prosecutor investigates freezing apartments

The krai prosecutor has launched a criminal case against two companies that have failed to provide heat to residents of six apartment blocks on Krygina Street since October. Prosecutor Valery Vasilenko is charging AESCO and PZHRET with negligence after residents complained they hadn’t had heat or hot and cold water for months. No other officials had responded to repeated appeals by the freezing people.

Hey! Come back, you guys

The flight of residents from Magadan Oblast is reaching an unprecedented scale as entire industries close and lay off their work force, said Gov. Valentin Tsvetkov. Tsvetkov said the government must create inducements for people whose villages are emptying out. “We need to create favorable conditions for the people,” he said. In Soviet times, people moved to Magadan for higher salaries in the far northern region. But in 1997 when the government gave money to villagers to help them find apartments, all of them bought new homes in central Russia.

Concrete plant closes as people shun block houses

At his recent meeting with the Vladivostok construction companies representatives, Mayor Victor Cherepkov confessed he does not know what to do with Vladivostok’s two concrete block factories. No one wants to live in the buildings made of concrete blocks, and contractors refuse to buy the blocks. The city’s demand for iron and concrete construction can be satisfied by one factory, officials said recently.

Tunnel proposed to ease Vladivostok’s traffic

The Far Eastern Mining Construction Company has suggested a radical way to solve the traffic problem in Vladivostok. Director Nikolai Tokarsky proposes a paid tunnel from Lugovaya to the Third Rabochaya Street. With a 5 ruble toll, the $66 million project will start bringing profit in five years, he estimates. According to the poll conducted by Business Expert Invest Company, the majority of the respondents support the idea and the fee wouldn’t scare off drivers.

China tourists grow

Passengers and ferry trips increased by 1.6 times on one of the main tourist routes between Khabarovsk and the Chinese town of Fuyang. Customs officials say the phenomenon ai overwhelming: They expected the growth of less than 20 percent in 1997. In the last year, the Chinese have created better conditions for Russian tourists and traders who bought Chinese goods worth more than $30 million.

Prosecutor wants rate cuts

A Dalenergo price increase for heat in Vladivostok’s Frunzensky District last July violated federal law and should be revered, the district prosecutor stated. Last summer the director of two Dalenergo branches responsible for central heating and water supply increased heat prices from 2,183 rubles to 3,504 rubles per square meter of each apartment. Hot water rose from 13,099 to 21,026 rubles per person. The prosecutor suggested a return to the old prices.

Development plans tabled

Federal programs to develop the Far East and Trans Baikal region were delayed once again recently when the prime minister put off a meeting of a special commission created to develop regional projects in 1996. The meeting was to discuss energy and defense industry issues in the region. The commission has convened only once since its inception.

Fleet cruiser burns

The Pacific Fleet cruiser Varyag caught fire on the morning of Dec. 30 while being drydocked for repair at Dalzavod. One theory says the fire started from a welding spark that ignited the heat insulation. Fleet and city fire crews put the blaze out by noon. An investigation is underway.

Explosion kills 2 workers

A strong explosion rocked an area near downtown Vladivostok Jan.3 killing two workers and injuring a third. Preliminary investigations show that careless handling of fire led to the overheating and subsequent explosion of an oxygen canister inside a workers’ hut. The hut was located near Vladivostok’s oil storage facility.