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Safeway lights on for safety Every time I drive by the old Safeway store on West Main Street in Medford, I notice that the lights are on, whether it is day or night. My question is: Why is Safeway wasting money but having lights unnecessarily on when they were saying they were losing money and had to close up shop? -- Donald G., Medford One person's waste of electricity is another's prudent security measure, Donald. "The lights are kept on to some degree for security," says Mark Olson of Property Development Associates, which handles Safeway's surplus real estate. Lights are left on inside the building as a way to discourage vandalism, since vacant grocery stores are an easy target. Ideally, Olson said, only a few lights would be left on. However, with real estate agents showing the building and turning on all the lights and then turning some off, the number of lights left on varies. Since it's easier to run the lights than repair vandalism, the agents have been told to leave more on rather than less when in doubt. Some heat is also left on in the building to prevent weather damage. Safeway will have possession of the building only until February, when it can opt out of its lease, Olson said. It is owned by a group of New York investors who will assume control of it unless a new tenant is found. ADDENDUM : Y2K questions still bugging you? Send yours in, and we'll attempt to answer it in a special report scheduled Sunday, Dec. 26. Y2K refers to the fear some people have that computers will fail to recognize the year 2000, misreading the numbers as 1900, and that malfunctions will result. Only time will answer some of the big questions such fears raise, but others -- how cars' computers will perform, for example -- can be answered before 2000 arrives. Questions must be in the Mail Tribune office by 5 p.m. Tuesday to be considered for publication. Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] Please include your name, address and phone number for verification. Today's News Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA