Originally published January 2, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified January 2, 2008 at 9:36 AM
Local Digest
Computer glitch delays Space Needle fireworks
A corrupted computer file is to blame for the three-minute delay to Monday night's start of the fireworks show at the Space Needle. Two technicians had to...
A corrupted computer file is to blame for the three-minute delay to Monday night's start of the fireworks show at the Space Needle.
Two technicians had to press buttons to manually set off about 5,000 fireworks.
About a minute before midnight, technicians with California-based Pyro Spectaculars realized that the computer program that controlled the display was not going to work, said Mary Bacarella, a spokeswoman for the Space Needle. They rebooted twice, then decided to do the show by hand.
Usually, technicians press a single button to start the show, then run outside to watch it. Monday night, they had to manually start 1,582 "queues," the lines of computer code that control the choreographed show. The fireworks couldn't go off simultaneously as planned, so the show lasted 11-½ minutes instead of 8-½. The music sequence ran as scheduled, so it was not in sync with the fireworks.
The Space Needle Corp. paid Pyro Spectaculars about $110,000 for the fireworks show. Pyro Spectaculars has been doing the show for 14 years without a hitch, Bacarella said.
Bellevue
First baby of year born in Bellevue
The first baby of the New Year for the Puget Sound area was born at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, a hospital official said.
Ester and Simon Shin, of Bothell, greeted the birth of Noah, their first child, at 12:07 a.m. Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said. The baby weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, she said. Both the baby and mother were doing well after a long labor, she said.
Every New Year's Eve, hospitals from Everett to Tacoma keep tabs on which one will have the first baby born at or after midnight. The hospitals give the first baby's family a gift basket to mark the arrival.
Medford, Ore.
![]()
Synthetic fog foils pharmacy burglary
When a burglar broke into a Medford pharmacy this week he was foiled by fog.
The dense fog, a new technology offered by alarm companies, made it impossible for the burglar to find the sought-after narcotics.
Pharmacy break-ins are prevalent throughout Oregon. And now drugstore owners are stepping up efforts to protect their businesses, using everything from grates over windows and doors to alarms and surveillance cameras.
The fog protection is the latest twist. It adapts fog-machine technology used in entertainment to create a fast-spreading, long-lasting, dense fog that is triggered by motion detectors or other sensors.
The fog, made by combining water and glycol, has a "soft mint smell," can fill a room in three to five seconds, and blocks visibility for at least 10 minutes.
It can last up to an hour or be removed in about 15 minutes with ventilation and doesn't leave a residue, manufacturers said.
In the Medford case, police arrived two minutes after the alarm was triggered to find the shop filled with fog and no suspects around.
When the fog cleared and a pharmacist checked the inventory, only "a few bottles of cough syrup were gone," said Detective Sgt. Mike Budreau.
Seattle Times staff and news services
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Illegal workers quietly let go
Metro won't cut bus service after all
Jerry Large: Food-bank theft turns into a gift
Bumper to Bumper: How can the city let bridges go dark?
NEW - 01:26 AM
Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Husky Men's Basketball Blog | Saturday's Pac-10 games in review
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
134 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
129 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
123 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
122 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Prosecutor requests life in prison for Amanda Knox
89 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
88 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
65 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
54
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Protect yourself from baggage loss
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Northwest Living | On Whidbey, a unified home from multiple recycled parts





