♦ Deputy City Controller Ruben Gonzalez is leaving Laura Chick's staff after four years to be a vice president at Englander and Associates, the lobbying firm headed by Harvey Englander. Gonzalez has been the Controller's liaison to the City Council.

♦ Pellicano toll grows: Director John McTiernan was charged with lying to FBI investigators for denying that he had hired private eye Anthony Pellicano to wiretap a Hollywood rival, producer Charles Roven. They worked together on Rollerball.

♦ Lots of chatter around town about the bloody leg and antiseptic-covered soldier's hand above the fold on the front page of today's Los Angeles Times.

♦ Word around the Times has Moscow bureau chief Kim Murphy getting the London bureau.

♦ Freelance journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis, who lives in the Los Feliz area, rags on Los Angeles' "frighteningly low velocity of idea exchange in casual conversation" in the LAist Interview.

♦ The Dodgers spotted the Braves an 8-1 lead and came most of the way back, but ended up losing 11-10. The new guys are all right: Rafael Furcal and Bill Mueller, the new left side of the infield, reached base eight times.

♦ Times' sports section utility editor-writer Houston Mitchell has launched a personal Dodgers and Angels blog. Mission statement: "For the first time in a long time, the Angels are battling the Dodgers for the top position among fans in L.A. Who will win? What mistakes will be made along the way? Will the Dodgers sign any more ex-Giants?"

♦ Retired UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who is 95, will watch tonight's NCAA championship game from a hospital bed. A campus spokesman said he is in "for an undisclosed condition that was not considered serious."