Slain Times Columnist Honored

A Los Angeles Times columnist who died after he was hit by a tear gas canister 25 years ago was the subject of a keynote speech by Frank del Olmo, deputy editor of The Times’ editorial pages, at the annual scholarship banquet of the National Assn. of Hispanic Journalists Wednesday.

Del Olmo spoke about Ruben Salazar, who became a well-known voice for the Mexican American community as a Times columnist.

Salazar died in 1970 after he was hit by the canister, fired into a bar by sheriff’s deputies. He had gone into the bar after a Vietnam War protest he was covering on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles erupted into rioting.

The association’s national scholarship has been renamed for Salazar. Times Editor and Executive Vice President Shelby Coffey III served as honorary banquet chairman.