Ruth W. Newhall, 93; Author, Journalist, Newspaper Co-Owner

Ruth W. Newhall, the widow of legendary journalist Scott Newhall and a notable journalist in her own right, died Monday at a hospital in Berkeley. She was 93.

Newhall died of apparent heart failure after a brief illness, according to her son Skip.

She was the author of several nonfiction books, including works on Newhall Land & Farming Co. and the Folgers Coffee and Spreckels sugar companies.

During her long career in newspapers, she was at various times a secretary, a police reporter and on the city desk of the San Francisco Chronicle, where her husband worked more than 35 years. After becoming executive editor in 1952, “Scotty” Newhall led the Chronicle’s circulation war against the other newspapers in town with a flamboyant brand of journalism emphasizing scoops, colorful writing and zany features.

After his retirement in 1971, the Newhalls decamped to the Santa Clarita Valley, where Scott Newhall’s family, which founded Newhall Land & Farming in the 19th century, had made its fortune.

The couple lived in a mansion in the Ventura County town of Piru. After it burned to the ground in the early 1980s, they painstakingly rebuilt it.

But they were far from retirees. For 25 years, they ran the Newhall Signal newspaper, which they had purchased in 1963. It was known for its aggressive crusades to keep out shoddy developers. The couple also championed cityhood for Santa Clarita in 1987.

The Signal became known for its in-your-face journalism, with such headlines as: “Big Rigs Won’t Stop/Throw the Bastards in Jail.” In front-page editorials that Scott Newhall wrote and Ruth Newhall edited, the Signal once called the Legislature “a whining, lying, groveling gang of sneak thieves” and characterized the San Fernando Valley as “a heaven on Earth for winos, dog poisoners, child abusers, husband swappers, wife beaters, porno stars, bill jumpers, street racers, defrocked priests and street-corner bordellos.”

“The Signal has not been bashful,” Ruth Newhall once said.

The paper was sued for libel after linking hamburgers at the local high school to a dog food company. The case was settled out of court, with the Newhalls agreeing to donate $200 in merchandise to a local charity -- they gave a stomach pump to the local hospital -- and print a retraction.

The couple sold the Signal in 1978, but continued to run it until they resigned a decade later in a dispute with the Savannah, Ga.-based owners. They then briefly published the Citizen in Santa Clarita, a twice-weekly newspaper.

At the Citizen, as at the Signal, Ruth Newhall wrote a column under the pen name “Mimi.”

“You really hadn’t arrived until you got your name in Mimi’s column,” a reader once said.

Newhall also wrote a column on government called “Talk of the Town.” On one occasion, she wrote about the suspicious death of a legislator’s Siamese fighting fish.

After closing the Citizen, Newhall remained actively involved in the Newhall Historical Society and the Boys & Girls Club. Her husband died in 1992.

Ruth Waldo was born July 3, 1910, to parents with high expectations of their highly intelligent daughter. While a graduate student at UC Berkeley, she met Scott and eloped to Reno -- with his mother in tow so she could give permission for her 19-year-old son to marry.

The Newhalls lived a colorful life. As newlyweds, they set out to sail the world in a 42-foot ketch, but were forced to abandon their trip when the boat was damaged. They collected antiques, restored vintage cars and hosted many charity and social events at their Piru mansion.

Besides Skip, of Valencia, Newhall is survived by two other sons, Jon of Oakland and Tony of Valencia; five grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

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Times staff writer Stephanie Stassel contributed to this report.