LA Observed on KCRW

It’s nice to be back in this slot after two weeks off so the station could sign up new subscribers. And tap the old ones to keep supporting what we do here.

During the break, Los Angeles and the newsworthy characters who inhabit the place have kept on doing what they do best – making news.

One of those characters, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, is a familiar subject at LA Observed. Last year one of these segments discussed his political career crashing in pretty spectacular fashion. At the time I called Rocky his own worst enemy.

That was the week he was caught being not entirely truthful with reporters about some damage done to his city-owned GMC Yukon.

To cut to the chase, it turned out his wife Michelle was driving the SUV when it had an accident. And that she didn’t have insurance. Or a valid driver’s license. And – oops -- there was also an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court on an earlier ticket.

Rocky’s bad news week turned even cloudier when it was disclosed that the City Attorney himself had been driving the Yukon without insurance.

That was all last summer -- the details have faded from most memories. Rocky was even said to be feeling good and thinking about another run for state Attorney General. This even though the voters smacked him down pretty severely the last time he ran.

OK, now we get to this week and a new blow to Rocky’s public standing. The San Francisco Chronicle broke the news that the FBI is investigating the Delgadillos. Records have been subpoenaed, possibly emails too.

The LA Times added that agents are paying special attention to Michelle Delgadillo’s professional relations with a couple of firms headed by women with close ties to the City Attorney. Allegations of unreported income and unpaid taxes have come up. So have accusations that this is all politics, inspired by Rocky Delgadillo’s rivals.

There could be some merit to that. City Controller Laura Chick, one of those rivals, gathered together reporters and volunteered that the FBI had come to her asking about Rocky. Of course she gladly cooperated.

Rocky’s spokesman denied any wrongdoing, but this looks deeper than mere politics. It isn’t Jerry Brown sending his state attorneys after a former opponent, or Chick getting revenge for some slight. It’s the feds. Once all the cards get played it will be interesting to see what’s left of Rocky’s once-golden future.

For most of City Hall’s ambitious political animals, this weekend they fly off to Denver for the Democratic convention.

Mister Ambition himself, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, leads the delegation. He’s managed to sidle from Hillary Clinton’s team over to Camp Obama, and he’ll try to be even more visible this time than he was when the Democrats gathered in Boston four years ago.

The convention is a time for politicians and their minions to scout out new jobs, go to parties and find TV cameras to get in front of. I’ll be observing from anything worth mentioning here next Friday, but I’ll do it from LA -- quite thankfully.

I do wish, though, that I’d been able to get to Beijing for the Olympics. I’ll miss the Games when they end on Sunday, and I’m still impressed by the performance of SoCal’s most iconic Olympic champions.

They of course would be Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, the beach volleyball stars who won gold medals for the second time.

They didn’t lose a single set in two Olympics. And never lost their cool despite diving and digging in the sand – in front of millions around the world -- wearing nothing but bikinis.

Now they plan to go have babies, and they don’t care who knows it. If you see them on the beach, say thanks for the memories.

For KCRW this has been Kevin Roderick with LA Observed.