Veteran Emmy Award-winning Bay Area television news reporter Jim Vargas passes away

Jim Vargas, a veteran Emmy Award-winning Bay Area television news reporter for more than 40 years
By Kevin Wing
 
Jim Vargas, a veteran Emmy Award-winning Bay Area television news reporter for more than 40 years, died Jan. 14 in Marin County. He was 78. 
 
Vargas died at Marin General Hospital in Marin County, according to KTVU reporter and consumer editor Tom Vacar, a longtime friend and colleague. 
 
Vargas worked at KGO-TV in San Francisco from the early 1970s until 1993. After leaving KGO-TV, he worked at KRON and KTVU, the latter of which he retired from in 2011.
 
In 2011, Vargas was inducted into the Silver Circle of the San Francisco/Northern California Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for his more than 25 years in contributions to Bay Area and Northern California television. 
 
Vargas covered many of the biggest stories in the Bay Area during his career, including the Patty Hearst kidnapping in 1974, the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978, the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 and the Oakland Hills firestorm in 1991, among many.
 
Vargas’ family said it was covering the political action and riots of the late 1960s and early ‘70s that cemented his goal of becoming a journalist.
 
A San Francisco native, Vargas is survived by his sister, Mali Trower, a sister-in-law, Bobbie Vargas, and 11 nieces and nephews.
 
There will be a viewing at 5 PM, Feb. 5, at St. Brendan’s Church, 29 Rockaway Ave., San Francisco. A funeral mass will be held at 10 10 AM, Feb. 6, also at St. Brendan’s Church.