Professor may face jail if LA weatherman harassed

[September 04, 2009]  BURBANK, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities say a college professor on a crusade to change the way a Los Angeles weatherman uses terminology has to leave him alone or face six months in jail.

Melanie Patton Renfrew, a Harbor College teacher, wants KNBC-TV's Fritz Coleman to change references to onshore and offshore winds.

She says the terms are confusing because people don't know which are coming and which are going.

Burbank-based KNBC obtained a restraining order in March 2008 after calling her behavior bizarre and saying Coleman feared for his safety.

Prosecutors say she continued sending letters and e-mails. Last month, she pleaded no contest to violating the order.

Burbank Assistant City Attorney Denny Wei says the case will be dismissed if she leaves Coleman alone through next August.

[Associated Press]

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