* Albert B. Bluhm; Former Times News Editor

Albert B. Bluhm, 83, retired executive news editor of the Los Angeles Times. Born in Ottumwa, Iowa, Bluhm graduated from Northwestern University before serving in the U.S. Army in Europe as a lieutenant during World War II. After the war, he continued his newspaper career, working as state editor of the Herald in Decatur, Ill. He moved West, taking a job as news and copy editor at the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson. From there he found executive positions, first as executive news editor of the San Diego Union and later of the San Diego Evening Tribune. A tough-minded, no-nonsense editor who commanded a great deal of respect in the newsroom, Bluhm joined The Times as a news editor in 1960. He was later promoted to night executive news editor, a position that put him in charge of the production of the news sections of the paper. He held that post for 18 years before retiring in 1986. After leaving The Times, he lived in South Carolina before relocating to Tucson in 1989. On July 13 in Tucson of congestive heart failure.