DOWNEY, CA-Jack Kyser, the best known and most widely quotedauthority on the Southern California economy for decades, has diedat the age of 76. Kyser, who was a resident of this Los AngelesCounty city, died at home of undetermined causes.

Kyser had retired as chief economist of the Los Angeles CountyEconomic Development Corp. last summer and at the time of his deathwas chief economic adviser to the Southern California Associationof Governments. Wally Baker, a friend of Kyser and a former seniorvice president at the LAEDC, tells GlobeSt.com that Kyser hadparticipated Thursday in a SCAG event called the Road to EconomicRecovery Summit in Downtown Los Angeles and had been interviewedabout the event on Los Angeles radio station KNX.

SCAG president Larry McCallon and executive director HasanIkhrata issued a statement saying: “Today I share in the sadness ofmany as we learned of the passing of Jack Kyser. He was aconsummate professional, remarkable scholar and a dear friend.Southern California has lost a true champion in Jack.”