Cynthia "Cindy" Frazier, who served as city editor of the Coastline Pilot for nearly eight years, has died. She was 60.
Cindy had been battling pancreatic cancer for the last year. She succumbed to her illness Wednesday morning at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills.
After working at community newspapers in the Santa Monica area, Cindy joined the Coastline Pilot in January 2005 as city editor, quickly immersing herself in the community.
She placed a strong emphasis on City Hall and arts coverage, and also wrote quirky columns about everything from taking art classes to her small roles on the community theater stage. During her tenure, she led the newspaper staff to numerous California Newspaper Publishers Assn. awards.
"Cindy was fiercely loyal to Laguna Beach," said John Canalis, who supervised Cindy as editor of Times Community News South. "She championed her staff, freelancers and columnists, and took great pride in serving as a community editor. Our entire staff is grieving."