Jim Vargas of Sausalito, veteran television reporter, dies at 78

Jim Vargas, a Sausalito resident with a 41-year television news career, died Jan. 14 at MarinHealth Medical Center. He was 78.

Mr. Vargas died of natural causes, Marin County Chief Deputy Coroner Roger Fielding said.

Mr. Vargas was a fixture on Bay Area television, starting at KGO-TV in the early 1970s and ending with his 2011 retirement from KTVU. He also covered politics at ABC7 for 20 years.

Mr. Vargas won an Emmy award for his coverage of the abduction of heiress Patty...