I think it is partially solved... and possibly part of a larger/other problem.
Since the introduction of the Progressive Era I experience frequent crashes of the flash plug-in, especially after/during I visit PE cities. I did not report this yet, because it is known that the combination of shockwave flash and an Apple computer can create probs of this kind, however lately I hear from more players with other types of operating systems that they also experience these probs more frequent. Usually it starts with a slowing down of the game as a whole which ultimately results in a crash of the flash plug-in.