Rocky loses his consultant

Larry Grisolano ran City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's successful 2001 race and, more importantly, was directing the race against Jerry Brown to get the Democratic nomination for state attorney general. He left the campaign last week, Erin Park reports in today's L.A. Daily Journal, and no one will say why. Grisolano didn't return her phone calls, while Delgadillo spokesman Roger Salazar would say only: "Larry's a great friend of Rocky's, has been for a long time, and he'll continue to be a valued adviser." Ace Smith, Brown's consultant, waxed metaphorical: "Rocky's campaign is pulling up to the starting gate with a car that's got a smoking engine and four flat tires."

Also in the Journal: Park had a front-pager Thursday on the city council's intention to hire its own lawyer to get advice independent of what comes from Delgadillo's office.

And: Garry Abrams had a front page column Thursday on the predicament of Los Angeles attorney Ellen Batzel, who says her career was ruined by an email that falsely claimed she is the granddaughter of World War II Nazi figure Heinrich Himmler. The email was sent by a disgruntled handyman and swept around the Internet, Batzel says, costing her clients and bringing in so many death threats she has moved several times. Now she's in court suing her former attorneys for malpractice involving attempts to clear her name.