• Stephanie Grace: Where was that courage before feds showed up?
After the extraordinary recent flurry of activity in federal court, I've decided we need a new term for the actions of public servants who first copped to participating in crimes, then turned around and helped authorities catch their fellow criminals.

• Stephanie Grace: Somebody's paying, and it must be us
On the day former Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans member Benjamin Edwards admitted that he'd spent years shaking down companies that do business with his agency, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten effusively praised the contractor who had come forward and helped the feds break the case wide open.

• Stephanie Grace: Somebody's paying, and it must be us
On the day former Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans member Benjamin Edwards admitted that he'd spent years shaking down companies that do business with his agency, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten effusively praised the contractor who had come forward and helped the feds break the case wide open.

• Stephanie Grace: Dysfunctional to the end
Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu says he's never gotten a formal response to his request that Mayor Ray Nagin not encumber large amounts of city money during his final months in office. That doesn't mean the incoming mayor doesn't have his answer.

• Stephanie Grace: Voters demand predictability, for a change
From the beginning, 2010 had the makings of a classic "change" election. After eight years of Mayor Ray Nagin's antics and nearly five of a frustratingly slow recovery, New Orleans voters were clearly eager for a new dynamic.

• Stephanie Grace: Don't forget, Brooks-Simms took bribes
It goes without saying that Ellenese Brooks-Simms didn't particularly enjoy helping federal authorities build a criminal case against her longtime friend, political operative Mose Jefferson, brother of former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson.