The long-time education writer at the LAT was 80. From the Times obit:

At The Times, where he was a reporter for nearly 30 years starting in 1964, Trombley was known for reshaping the paper's coverage of higher education, starting on the beat during a tumultuous period when the Free Speech Movement was roiling college campuses from California to New York. He also covered crucial issues in lower education, from the desegregation lawsuits that brought busing to Los Angeles schools to prickly battles over bilingual education and textbooks.