Gerri the scramble for salt. Sits and towns are bracing for the salt. Joining me with the problems municipalities are facing, we have pittsburghs chief operations officer, we have chris koch, public works director for paterson, new jersey and bruce sisler, the mayor for morristown, new jersey. Bruce, this seems to be a problem across the country but what kind of salt issues are you facing . A lot. The fact that the storms are so frequent. The fact there is archaic law right now that is hurting municipalities here in new jersey and across the east coast. Gerri youre talking about a centuryold maritime law keeping a whole lot of salt stranded, i believe in maine, right . It is, yes. And the fact of the matter is that the federal government should have some emergency provisions and some procedures they can release this on emergency basis. Gerri i know that senators, new jersey senaton this right nt could be a while before you guys see this. Now you were involved in this daytoday. What kinds of problems are you facing . Well, we have a host of problems. Mainly were facing a lot of fatigue. Drivers have been out there because of lack of salt, they have been required to drive and plow more as a way to subsidize the salt shortage. But we reached out to our lawmakers from the Assembly Level all the way up to the federal level to request help in getting this salt delivered. Gerri you guys need help. Bruce, youre saying you guys are mixing all kinds ever things into the salt to stretch it. I dont know what it is doing to the roadways. Let me turn to guy for a minute in pittsburgh. You guys have Something Like 57 inches of snow this year . Yeah. Gerri how do you possibly keep up with that . It is very difficult. So far we have seen 57 inches of snow in the city. Typically by this time of the so weve seen double what we typically see. What has been hurting us, were seeing a lot of one to three inch snowstorms where they come day after day after day. We have four, three inch snowstorms the past six days. It is straining our supply and adding fatigue to the employees and equipment. So what weve been doing last couple days to stretch materials weve been adding rock salt with sand and crushed limestone spraying with liquid calcium and working with us. Gerri guy, isnt that hard on the roadways . Doesnt that create problems on its own . It creates problem for the roadway. Were making sure the road is safe for the commuters and school bus. With the salt were seeing, roads creating a lot of potholes. Once this wouldnter is over well reevaluate our paving program and spend more money on resurfaces streets this summer. Gerri bruce, what happens if you dont get the rock salt out of maine . At end of the day youre not getting enough salt to do what you need to do, right . Correct. What were doing, were plowing every day literally right down to the pavement. Were putting something called grit down which is sort of milling and rocks and dirt to try and give motorist as little bit more traction under their wheels. Gerri so the sun melt as little bit of that. I got to tell you, chris, ive been driving this stuff and the roads are not wide enough. Yep. Gerri there is no place to go. Theres a wall of ice on the side of the road. Are people having more accidents as a result . We are seeing some accidents. We asked the residents, paterson is the Third Largest city in new jersey and its topography is very hilly. Some of these roadways we have to salt constantly. Without a salt its a problem. In terms of narrow roadways were asking residents not throw back snow in the street. Gerri all the time. People try to get the snow out of their driveway and put it right in the road and create more ice and more hazards. Guy, to you, i understand a Company CalledAmerican Rock Salt that everybody orders from and that they cant mine it fast enough to supply people like you . Thats correct. We get our rock salt from this company out of western new york. They send it by train to pittsburgh. Then from the train it is hauled on trucks to the various divisions. But, we in city of pittsburgh and most municipalities in western pennsylvania throughout the state use penn d. O. T. Contract, Pennsylvania Department of transportation contract which we piggyback off of. They have that contract and very difficult for them to keep up with the demand for us but state and county and local municipalities. They are trying best as they can. They cant mine it fast as they can. Gerri they sure can raise the prices though. Were locked in at 55 a ton. That is us, the government. Im not sure in the private sector they may get more for that. I hear rock salt is going up to 200 a ton. Gerri are you seeing increases too . Yes, we are. That is one of the concerns we have. I dont know if there is a way to prove it are vendors holding back from the municipality that is have lower price of salt and cornering the market . Gerri unbelievable. I got to tell you. I think the next issue will be flooding. This snow is all going to have to go somewhere. What do you say . Absolutely, our overtime costs with regard to our plowing is going to be difficult but what will we have to look at with our drainage and those issues . It is going to be difficult for any municipality here in this area. Gerri guy, last word. In our area too, with flooding. We have three rivers here. It is 48, 49 degrees with sun. A lot of snow is melted today. Well see problems over next couple days with flooding potentially. We have another snowstorm coming in over the weekend t will be very interesting week and well have to get through it. Gerri good luck everybody, new jersey, new york, pennsylvania, pittsburgh, wee all be fighting it. Thank you for coming on tonight. Appreciate your time. Great job everybody. Thank you, gerri. Gerri while cities are running out of salt, people are running out of patience, being cooped up during this endless winter. Joining me, dr. Keith ablow, a psychiatrist, how to deal with cabin fever. Let me tell you, doc, you know, out in the suburbs, people are angry. I saw some kind of vicious displays of anger this morning at the train station, let me tell you. Is this unusual . Are you surprised . Listen, im not surprised because this is unusual. Yes, people feel disempowered. When people disempowered by something great as nature, they become irritable. They become unable to plan their days, their weeks. It is relentless, gerri. So that is what really contributes here to people feeling dispirited. They cant control it and it is random. You dont know if it is happening next week or tomorrow or two weeks from now and thats a formula for helplessness. Gerri formula for helplessness but what do you do about it . Is there anything you can do . Youre sort of stuck at home, arent you . One thing to know it is going to end. Generally if you will define for people, listen this, is not forever. There is an end in site, they will do better if they keep that in mind. You can forget it. Other thing not effort so much against it because the truth is, sometimes it is better to say, you know what . Forget it. No plans this weekend because the snows coming. Hence well stay in with movies, this, that. Cabin fever is mostly cabin fever because people are itching to get out and they want to battle bense nature. If you just kind of relax into it you may win. Gerri some people say you should get a lot of natural light. Take a walk in the neighborhood. What do you say . Well i love that idea because listen, one thing is cabin fever. Another thing to be actually stricken with major depression. This winter is a formula for disaster for seasonal effective disorder. People who dont get enough bright light they can literally fall victim to major depion with all symptoms. Lack of concentration, decreased sleep, whole gamut. Believe in that . Lack of light can actually get people depressed . Absolutely can. Ill tell you, device you buy online for 100 bucks, bright light devices like the go light, many others they can actually reverse major depression and seasonal effective disorder and give people back their sense of balance. Talk a lot of cabin fever and depression, what i see is out and out anger. People are tired of having to deal with this. What do you say with people who are shorttempered and just fed up . You know what . Heres what i say. The best solution, best prescription for your irriddability to be helpful to someone else. I know it sound trite. You want to feel powerful . Check on couple relatives and friends. Make a few calls. Say how are you doing . I wonder is the propane supply okay . You need me to make calls. That empowers people. We forget we have reserves of effective hes rness in the face of Mother Nature effectiveness in the face of Mother Nature but we still do. Gerri thank you, dr. Ablow. Stay warm. Gerri you as well. We want to know what you think. Here our question tonight. Are you suffering from cabin fevee . Log on to gerri willis. Com. Gerri gerriwillis. Com. I will reveal the results at end of the show. We have 57 incheses in pittsburgh youre probably coursing your local weatherman or woman, right . It is not their fault. The it feels that way when their forecasts are off. What your weather forecaster wont tell you. Number five were great predict weather in place that is dont have any. Places like south dakota where High Temperature can vary daytoday by 10 degrees they were only right 70 of the time. More than 86 . Ologists right we all use same data. Why all forecasts so different . Meteorologists are trying hard to be different and to promote their newscasts as having exclusive, triple doppler whatever. Number three, the polar vortex is not a new thing. These freezing, bonechilling temperatures are not as much rarity what you see on tv. Actually dates back to the 1940s. Happens every five to 10 years. Number two, were better at marketing. Have you heard some stations like the Weather Channel calling these latest string of weather storms by names that are completely made up by the way . It is a way to get you to tune in by drumming up interest and hashtag nemo sound cooler than hashtag winter storm number four. Number one thing weather forecasters will not tell you it is this, raining money. Weather forecasts ballooned into 6 billion industry. Thanks o private companies trying to develop the latest and greatest Weather Technology to Public Services like the federallyrun National Weather service. But good news is, your local weather person is way more accurate than this little fellow we saw two weeks ago. Punxatawney phil fill, look at him, he is right just 39 of the time. I dont know why we listen. Lot more still to come this hour, including how your tv could be targeting you. Next, everything in the Grocery Store seems to be glutenfree these days. Is this important for your health or boosting companys bottom line . Female announcer ] its time for the nual shareholders meeting. Therell be the usual presentations on research. And development. Some new members of the team will be introduced. The chairman emeritus will distribute his usual wisdom. And you . Well, youre the chief life officer. You just need the right rofessional to help you take charge. To help you take charge. See whats new at projectluna. Com gerri well, from the Supermarket Food aisle to specialized menus at restaurants, the glutenfree craze seems to be everywhere and its a big billion dollar business that companies trying very hard to get in on but is it all just hype . Joining me supermarket guru. Com editor phil lampert. Phil, good to see you my friend. 10. 5 billion. Im amazed. How did it happen . It grew like topsy . It happened for a bunch of reasons. Number one we saw some celebrities coming out saying theyre going graduate 10 free. We have something called the atkins phenomenon. The glutenfree diet is similar to the atkins diet. So a lot of people they were able to lose weight. So that was a good thing but also we have a lot of docs and nutrition its being very concerned that people are not getting enough fiber. So we have to really balance out how much of it is a fad and how much is a trend. Only 1. 8 americans who are disease diagnosed a lot more people think they might have seeley yak. What they have is really gi discomfort. Gerri clearly what youre saying is interesting and clearly a number of people who have this very serious reaction to wheat, very small, but a ton of experts are telling folks every single day that wheat is do you agree . Gestive issues. No, i dont. And also we have a lot of alternatives now with all the ancient grains that are out there. We have kinwa. Which have hemp. There is lot of other grains that frankly we should be eating. It shouldnt be all one food, no matter what that foods. We need a much more balanced diet. Gerri phil, listen to this everybody is climbing on board, right . Lets see. Trader joes, in their weekly circular they had a little thing saying they have have a glutenfree greeting card. It was tongue in cheek and a joke but still funny. The girl scouts are going glutenfree. They are glutenfree short bread. Pillsbury in their annual prize is coming out with the best tasting glutenfree confection. This is pretty darn serious. There is no question about it. While it is 10. 5 billion last year, people predicting this could be is a billion, 20 billion, and soup irmarkets are clearing the shelves with more glutenfree products. What you need to know, a cup of companies who have certified certified glutenfree factories. That is great. Gerri wait a minute. Wait a minute. Certified glutenfree factory, what is that . Well, what that means is there is actually a certification process to make sure that there is no gluten in the factory because you can pick up a product that says glutenfree on the front and turn it around on the fact, may be produced in a processing facility that contains gluten. So you know, celiacs know what to eat. They dont need to buy over price, glutenfree products. They know exactly what to do. The glutenfree phenomenon is for the rest of to us try to figure out what is going on here and frankly gerri i got to tell you, 30 of the americans want to cut back on wheat. Want to gut back on gluten. I read sales of wheatbased flour are down to 22year lows. I think some americans are theyre flirting with this. Theyre experimenting with it. Even though they are not celiac disease, theyre feeling better. Some folks would argue with you this is fad. I think theyre trying to make the change for good. Well, yes, but what you need to do you need to talk to a registered dietician. You need to make sure youre getting a good balance. You cant just goblet 10 free. You need to eat yogurt for probiotics. You need some fiber in there. We shouldnt be selfdiagnosing whatever the diet is. A lot of people are doing it because they might think theyre feeling better, but it could be theyre losing weight and they needed to shed a few pounds in order to feel better. So, phil, obviously this trends on fire and millions and millions of people are trying it and companies are making a heck of a lot of money on it right now. What is the next trend in your crosshairs . What comes after glutenfree . We think it is really just a gi diet where people are going to understand that their gastrointenstinal system needs. You take a look at sales of products like rolaids and tums and the otc medication for gi disorders. That is actually down by about 2 1 2 . A study just found a lot of people are concerned about the sideeffects. Those tv commericals that go on and on and on about all the terrible things that are going to happen to you. So as a result, i think the next big diet will be understanding of our gi tract and really just a balanced diet. Gerri wow. You know, one thing i want to mention. If you want to go glutenfree, you could eat cornbased products and rice cakes. Other things you can eat dont fill the bill and not two or three times more expensive than the regular stuff. Phil, great to see. Thank you, gerry. Gerri well have the latest later in the show as the cbo warns that obamas policies are killing the jobs market. Plus hear what the White White House is saying. Next taking advertising to a whole new level. How Television Sets may soon have commercials targeted for each individual household. [ male announcer ] whether it takes 200,000 parts, 800,000 hours of supercomputing time, 3 million lines of code, 40,000 sets of eyes, or a million sleepless nights. Ether its building the world st advanced satellite, the space station, or the next leap in unmanned systems. At boeing, one thing never changes. Our passion to make it real. Gerri are tv ads targetting you . How companies are using your personal data for your benefit. Details in 60 seconds. Dont go away. What is this place . Where are we . This is where we bring together the Fastest Internet and the best in entertainment. We call it the x1 entertainment operating system. It looks like the future we must have encountered a temporal vortex. Further analytics are necessary. Beam us up. Thats my phone. Hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. Tv and internet together like never before. Gerri imagine tv ads tailormade just for you . A new Service Allows advertisers, even political campaigns to target and pinpoint specific homes for their commercial. Here to explain is a media president. Mike, good to have you here. You seem to be taking the mass out of mass media. To an extent, yes. Gerri tell me what youre doing. Sure. Historically television has been about just that, it has been about mass marketing. It is about using content as surrogate for the audience. Were changing that a little bit. So were sending, using technology and data to send specific tv commericals to specific households, generally through the settop box based on characteristics who is living in the household. Gerri let me see. So i watch tv all the time. Yep. Gerri and in the Campaign Season you might be sending me specifically targeted republican ads or democratic ads or even ketchup versus mayo . Absolutely. I can tell the fact thaw purchased heinz ketchup in the past six months and send you a message. I know you make over 200,000 a year and credit score is 750. So you will get a credit card ad. I know what kind of car you drive. Some of this is debated for a while but actually real and happening right now. Gerri mike, you see this in other parts of our life where you get targeting ads all the time. Right. Gerri but not on television. Technically how does it work . How do you get that into my tv set . It is fairly simple. There has been software installed into cable boxes or head en