Fairbanks has a Russian Sister City that's closer to Alaska than most of the lower 48 states. Nearly a month ago, ice jams on the huge river that runs through Yakutsk caused a record-breaking flood. Now the region is asking for international help. Prime News/Fox 7 reporter Robyne Martin met with a representative of the Sakha Republic in our studios about the relief effort.

The pictures are impressive and the statistics almost incredible.
Flooding on the 20th of May displaced 64 thousand people. That's twice the population of the city of Fairbanks.

Anastassia Bozhedonova / Sakha Republic Representative said "They are living now in tents. They are in evacuation centers and
schools. 12,000 homes are ruined, and 6,000 are gone completely.

In the early 1990s, Fairbanks established a sister city relationship
with Yakutsk in the newly formed Sakha Republic. Delegations went back and forth from Fairbanks to the old Soviet Union. Yakutsk was chosen as a sister city because it has similar climate… it's on the same latitude as Fairbanks… and similar demographics.

Another commonality are the rivers that run through both
cities. But unlike the little Chena, the Lena that runs through Yakutsk is huge, bigger than the Yukon or the Mississippi. And although the region is prepared for annual spring flooding, this flood was huge, and overwhelmed local resources. The Rivers in the Sakha region flow north to the Arctic Ocean. A hot and early spring in the south sent snow melt rushing north into the
still-frozen Lena river.

The Northern Forum, a non-profit group made up of Arctic countries, set up a bank account to help with flood relief. You can deposit money in the Sakha Flood account at Wells Fargo Bank, account # 6753411468.

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The president of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council is resigning. Long-time Valdez activist Stan Stephens says he's quitting the organization created as a watchdog of the oil-industry because of its demand for an apology from the Coast Guard.

Stephens says the council was "very arrogant" to demand the apology after a Coast Guard official accused the council's director of misspending travel funds. Stephens says the council instead should do a better job of managing its money, spending less on administration and more on projects to improve and safeguard Prince William Sound. Stephens operates Prince William Sound Cruises and Tours. He has been council president for more than 11 years -- ever since the agency's creation in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

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Fish and Wildlife state troopers arrested a Palmer taxidermist Tuesday and charged him with illegally selling Alaska big game trophies. Shawn McCrary, owner of Adventures North Taxidermy, is charged with five counts of criminal sale of an Alaska big game trophy. The maximum penalty for each count is one year in jail and a five-thousand dollar fine. McCrary denies the charges. Troopers say McCrary sold bison, caribou, mountain goat, brown bear and wolf mounts to investigators posing as Seattle restaurant owners.

It is illegal to buy, sell or barter any prepared big game trophies without a permit from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. McCrary says he did not break the law. He says the animals he sold were not mounted before investigators approached him. Troopers began their investigation after receiving a tip that McCrary was offering trophies for sale over the Internet. Trooper Lieutenant Franco D'Angelo says investigators contacted McCrary through the Internet about six weeks ago.

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(Juneau-AP) -- Just a year ago cruise ships operated under few pollution regulations. Now they have a slew of new rules to follow in Alaska. The passage of a cruise ship bill by the Legislature on Saturday added a layer of requirements and fees on top of a federal law passed by Congress in December. Also, an industry lobbying group -- the International Council of Cruise Lines -- has made new environmental performance standards a condition of membership. And individual cruise lines have their own policies for limiting smoke emissions and wastewater discharges. John Hansen, a spokesman for the industry group North West Cruiseship Association, says the new requirements fit together well. That makes it easier to meet them. He says the companies in his association are investing at least 40 (m) million dollars in technology to reduce air and water pollution. He says most of that was coming anyway. But the new laws accelerated the pace. The new rules include a ban on dumping raw sewage in Alaska waters. And ships can't dump treated sewage or water from their sinks and showers close to shore unless they meet a high cleanup standard.

(Anchorage-AP) -- Interior Secretary Gale Norton is planning to come to Alaska Saturday to pick up state Senator Drue Pearce for her new job in Washington, D-C. Pearce's office won't elaborate on what the senator's new position would be, except to confirm that it will be with the Interior Department. Pearce announced at the close of the special session that she would leave the Legislature for another public service job. Once Pearce officially resigns, Governor Tony Knowles will have 30 days to appoint a replacement to serve out the term. Norton visited Alaska in March, mostly for a tour of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

(Ketchikan-AP) -- A Ketchikan judge has denied an injunction to keep Ketchikan Public Utilities from continuing to offer Internet service. The ruling by Superior Court Judge Trevor Stephens allows the utility to provide Internet service while awaiting an upcoming trial that pits it against a local provider, Ketchikan Internet Services. The Internet provider requested the injunction when it filed an antitrust lawsuit against the utility in early March. The Ketchikan-based company alleges the city-owned utility is violating its charter by offering Internet service and is attempting to monopolize the market with predatory pricing. In his ruling Tuesday, Stephens wrote that Ketchikan Internet Services has not shown that the city is engaging in predatory pricing.

(Valdez-AP) -- Valdez police have killed their first bear of the summer season after it raided an area home and guzzled nonalcoholic beer. Police reportedly used eight to nine shots to bring the animal down last week. Valdez animal control officer Shana Anderson says the black bear was about six feet. Michelle Ferren, who lives at the raided home, says the bruin drank all the O'Doul's-brand nonalcoholic beer she had in her arctic entry. Ferren says the bear ignored some nearby champagne but ate all the cat food also being stored in the entry. Apparently the entry door had closed behind the bear, which was trapped in the house for more than an hour. Ferren says her teenage daughter discovered the intruder when she left the home.

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(Goteborg, Sweden-AP) -- As President Bush meets with European leaders in Sweden, he's giving a preview of his weekend summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin (POO'-tin). Bush says he's going to assure Putin that "Russia is not the enemy of the United States." Bush is expected to try to overcome Russian opposition to a U-S missile defense plan.

(Goteborg, Sweden-AP) -- Police in Sweden say they're "quite worried" about protests scheduled during President Bush's visit. About 12-thousand people are expected at rallies against globalization, Bush's environmental policy, and other things. So far there have been no arrests.

(Goteborg, Sweden-AP) -- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says the Pentagon will announce plans today to stop Navy exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques (vee-AY'-kes) by 2003. Activists say they're glad the bombings will stop. But they also say they'll continue to protest until it actually happens.

(Washington-AP) -- Five Internet companies that offered products claiming to cure everything from AIDS to cancer have agreed to settle federal fraud charges. The Federal Trade Commission says the companies have to stop using false advertisements. Some have to repay customers and pay government fines.

(Jersey City, New Jersey-AP) -- A New Jersey kindergartener has been suspended from school for five days after allegedly bringing a knife to class. The unidentified student allegedly planned to stab a classmate she thought was taunting her. Police say it's unlikely she'll be charged with a crime.

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