Crimea

A new billboard in downtown Detroit welcomes Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev's return to power and suggests he vacation elsewhere than the Crimea. "Welcome back, Gorby! Next Time Vacation in Michigan," says the billboard, which appeared Thursday and has drawn considerable attention. Roy Leinweber, president of Gannet Outdoor Co. of Michigan, said his company decided late Wednesday to paint the billboard after hearing reports that the plot by hard-liners to overthrow Gorbachev had failed.

I was absolutely sickened by "Caged Animal, Wild Hunters." These hunters are so very brave and courageous to shoot at point-blank range a tired, defenseless, scared cat. What was even more sickening was the penalty for the hideous crime--a fine of $2,000 and three years' probation. The shooter paid $3,000 just to hunt the leopard! K.T. FINN Simi Valley

The bitter feud that broke out between Russia and Ukraine following the collapse of the Soviet Union appears certain to intensify this week when lawmakers in the Crimea, a predominantly Russian region of Ukraine, consider a referendum on the peninsula's independence--a step most see as a prelude to reunification with Russia.

Ukrainians will go to the polls Sunday for their first elections since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. More than 3,600 candidates will contest 450 seats in the Rada, Ukraine's Parliament.

Ventura's night sky filled with the orange glow of flames Tuesday after a brush fire erupted on a ridge above the city, charring at least 47 acres. If winds remained calm, firefighters expected to contain the fire burning between Crimea Fire and Hall Canyon roads overnight. No homes were threatened by the fire, which was caused by downed power lines near the telephone relay tower off Crimea Fire Road, officials said. The fire began about 7 p.m.

Heading into a July runoff with President Leonid Kravchuk, former Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma on Tuesday began courting the supporters of also-rans in the first round of voting. Final returns showed a nation polarized between the pro-Russian and industrialized east, which supported Kuchma, and the more nationalist west, which supported Kravchuk. Kravchuk had 38% of the vote in Sunday's balloting, while Kuchma finished second in the seven-man race with 31%.

Nina Kuzmichna used to tune out the travails of her real life--an existence on a $20-a-month pension--by tuning into the fantasy troubles of the young, rich and restless in the Russian-dubbed American soap opera "Santa Barbara." But anticipation turned to dismay for the 58-year-old Russian recently when she switched on her television set to find that the Capwell clan and the show's other characters suddenly had Ukrainian voices. "My heart fell," she said. "I didn't understand what was going on."

Raisa Gorbachev, distressed by last week's attempted coup against her husband, is ill, a spokesman for President Mikhail S. Gorbachev said Saturday. "I can say that she is not very well," Karen Karagezyan said by telephone from his Kremlin office. He declined to elaborate. Karagezyan was responding to a question about rumors in the Soviet capital that Raisa Gorbachev, who is 59, had been hospitalized with a heart attack after the coup collapsed.