European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday january 25, 1994 . The stars and stripes Page 5 weather their fault or not they get blame Boston a obscene phone Calls hate mail a Hangman s noose that s what to meteorologists get just for doing their jobs. Frustrated by extreme weather such As the recent blast of Arctic air across the Midwest and East some tempestuous viewers blame the messenger. They la swear at you. They la cuss you out on the answering machine said Boston weather forecaster Bruce Schwoegler of Wiz to. There Are people who feel that we do control the  most viewers know meteorologists just forecast but some Grant them godlike authority holding them personally responsible for blizzards and numbing cold. Schwoegler said a meteorologist at his station once was mailed a tiny Hangman s noose made out of twine. At Wate to in Knoxville tenn., Ken Weathers his real name said a woman once called him to scream because her electricity was knocked out by a storm. Ashley Chisholm forecaster for Whas to in Louisville ky., said she no longer goes to the grocery store in bad weather. I can t get my food in the cart because everybody stops you and says what s the Deal with All this rain when Are you going to Stop it they actually blame you for it Chisholm said. There s Only so much you can.take.". ,.and last week when a record breaking 21 below Zero hit Chicago Tom Skilling of win to got a typed letter accusing him of being too extreme when he called the cold front  this fringe element comes out after every spate of bad weather Skilling. Said. I think it s a kill the messenger syndrome. There s such hate. They pretty much Tell you to drop  but some viewers looking for warmer weather take a More positive approach. Chisholm said people have called asking her to please put Sunshine in her  on Friday George  at Kejr to in Duluth minn., got a bribe. The letter said Here s a Dollar for a temperature of Zero. Maybe $10 if you d get us to 50." sociologist Paul Schervish said to meteorologists provoke viewers because the on screen theatrics shaman like maps and radar machines give weather reports the Aura of decrees by a High priest. They re not the reporters but the producers of the weather. They say i have Good news for you they Don t say the weather is bad news they personalize it said Schervish a professor at Boston College. But Skilling said some viewers might be angered when forecasters focus on damaging storms and record lows. That fascination is sometimes seen As excitement the wilful desire to inflict pain and suffering on our viewers he said. Blaming meteorologist s for bad weather gives viewers a feeling of control Over people they sometimes see As family members said Ellen Langer a psychology professor at Harvard University in Cambridge mass. And like a family member they can be hated or loved she said. Angeleno a get ready for hell on wheels los Angeles a commuters poured onto a crippled freeway system monday testing a Patchwork of repairs and detours the engineers hoped would ease gridlock brought by last week s earthquake. Helicopter pictures indicated traffic was moving a steady 30 Mph going into a key bottleneck on interstate 5 North of the Mityas the Rush hour geared up at 6 . I m sure it is going to be hell said de Russell who has to Man Euver around some of the worst earthquake damage to get to work. I m not looking Forward to  the relatively new metro link train sys tem added routes in Hopes that disaster would succeed where Public relations has failed and lure commuters in this Auto Mobile Mecca out of their cars. The remaining roads into los Angeles from the North and West have been clogged for a week. But  is yet to come be cause Many businesses were to return to Reg ular hours and teachers were due Back at most of the City s schools monday. All but about 9,000 of the 640,000 pupils in the los Angeles unified school District were expected in class today. For other angeleno commuting is the last thing on their minds. Thousands of people Are staying in shelters or outdoors where the tempera Ture dropped to 55 overnight. . Housing and Urban development Secretary Henry g. Cisneros said Mon Day that Aid to those people was our no. 1 priority for  although higher income residents were finding their Way to disaster assist California transportation engineers head sunday toward the rubble of the Bridge that formerly spanned Gavin Canyon on interstate 5 into the Santa Clarita Valley. Workers used explosives to destroy the Bridge which had been heavily damaged in last week s quake. Ance centers and getting help with hous ing that system really has t reached the people who Are Here in the tents and in the shelters who Are a different population Cisneros said on lbs. Nearly 11,000 houses and apartments have been declared unlivable so far the equivalent of a Small town Cisne Ros said. The death toll Rose again to 57, and aftershocks As Strong As 4.5 on the Richter scale kept the City on Edge. Since the Jan. 17 quake splintered portions of the Santa Monica freeway interstate 5 and Highway 14, stymied com Muters have spread through a Maze of Side streets and boulevards where one hour trips now take up to four times that. Highway repairs Are expected to take a year. Workers on sunday dynamited an elevated Section of interstate 5 left stand ing alone when the shifting Earth cracked it free from the Roadway to the North and South. To ease gridlock authorities repeated advice that angeleno have ignored for decades use car pools buses or com Muter trains. Other changes Are coming As Well. Some government employees were to go on Stag gered shifts or four Day workweeks to ease the traffic Load. Other people plan to work from Home on computers. Then there Are those for whom cars have become More than just transportation they re Home. Estimates on the number of people camping out in cars Parks and vacant lots varied wildly. The red Cross said sunday that 10,500 people were sheltered in schools gymnasiums and tents. An additional 4,400 people were in tent cities put up by the National guard and run by the salvation army. Aftershocks have Many survivors so frightened that they refuse to return to their Homes no matter what the building inspectors say. . Stake in earthquake Relief May top $4 billion los Angeles a the Clinton administration will ask Congress for at least $4 billion in Earth quake Aid and officials say the figure could go much higher the los Angeles times reported monday. White House aides shaped the Relief package sunday and plan to begin discussions with congressional Lead ers today or wednesday the newspaper said. Administration officials Are braced for resistance in Congress. They rejected Senate minority Leader Rob Ert Dole s suggestion sunday on lbs face the nation that disaster payments be offset by cutting other Feder Al programs. We ought to provide the Relief As quickly As we can in whatever amount it takes but we ought to pay for it the Kansas Republican said. We should t add it to the  some lawmakers had urged such cuts to offset mid Western flood Relief last year but Congress and the White House rejected the idea. Gov. Pete Wilson said estimates of damage now exceed $30 billion which would make the Jan. 17 quake the costliest natural disaster in . History. Final Fig ures probably will not be available for weeks. Federal officials said the disaster s estimated Cost has risen rapidly because aftershocks have caused addition Al damage and because engineers Are discovering More damage. So far about $4.6 billion in Federal Aid has gone to the seven midwestern states flooded last Spring and summer. About $2.5 billion was allocated for the 1989 earthquake in the san Francisco Bay area