William Stall, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covered California politics and the environment for the Los Angeles Times, has died. He was 71.
Stall died at his Sacramento home on Sunday of complications from pulmonary disease, said his wife, Anne Baker.
Stall won a Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for a series of Times' editorials titled "Reinventing California," which described how the newly elected Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger should address the complex economic and policy issues facing the state.
Born in Wyoming, Stall began his reporting career in college, and worked at the Laramie Daily Boomerang while a student at the University of Wyoming. He joined The Associated Press' Cheyenne, Wyoming bureau in 1960 and became the Sacramento bureau chief in 1967. He served as Governor Jerry Brown's first press secretary in 1975 before joining the Times.
"Bill was very competitive as a journalist, but not at all confrontational as a person," said George Skelton, a Times columnist who competed against Stall early in his career. "He was civil and always courteous in a tense world of deadlines."
Stall was also an avid rock climber and cross country skier until his health declined in recent years, Baker said.
{{/usCountry}}Stall was also an avid rock climber and cross country skier until his health declined in recent years, Baker said.
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