A local college professor has been ordered to stop harassing a Los Angeles weatherman or face six months in jail.Fritz has been a regular feature on L.A. TV since he began as the weekend weather guy in 1982, and then took Pat Sajak's place as the full-time KNBC weatherman in 1984 (his Wikipedia entry is here). Sajak, of course, went on to be the host of Wheel of Fortune.
Melanie Patton Renfrew, a Harbor College Geography professor, wants KNBC-TV's Fritz Coleman to change the terminology he uses to describe onshore and offshore winds to better inform the public.
She says the terms are confusing because people don't know which are coming and which are going.
She contends the information is important because winds affect people's health.
Offshore winds are those that blow out to sea; onshore are those that flow in from the ocean.
KNBC obtained a restraining order against Renfrew in March 2008, after calling her behavior bizarre and saying Coleman feared for his safety.
Despite the restraining order, prosecutors say Renfrew continued sending letters and e-mails.
Last month the 54-year old professor pleaded no contest Aug. 7 in Burbank court to violating the order.
Renfrew is not scheduled to be sentenced until August 2010. Burbank Assistant City Attorney Denny Wei said his office will dismiss the case against her if she leaves Coleman alone.
If not, she could face six months in jail and a possible $1,000 fine.
Read what Dr. Renfrew has to say about the case on her blog at: http://drmrenfrew.wordpress.com/
I remember not long after he took over the full-time job, and not long after the 1984 election, the station ran promo billboards that said "Fritz said it would be like this." Some people got irate with the station thinking it was a political shot at President Reagan. They thought the "Fritz" involved was Walter "Fritz" Mondale, the guy Reagan crushed in the election.
It's funny the things people obsess about.
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