Jon Talton, who was a business editor and columnist for a half-dozen newspapers before becoming a prolific author of fiction books, has died. He died Wednesday at the age of 69 after a brief hospital stay. Talton was a reporter and business editor at the San Diego Blade Tribune, business editor of the Beaumont Enterprise, business editor of the Dayton Daily News, assistant business editor and columnist at The Rocky Mountain News, assistant managing editor for business at The Cincinnati Enquirer, executive business editor and columnist at The Charlotte Observer and a business columnist for The Arizona Republic and Seattle Times. His columns have appeared in newspapers throughout North America on the New York Times News Service and other news services. Talton also wrote a book on the history of Phoenix.