Yeah, Ray Nagin really has turned a corner in the recovery of New Orleans, being the boneheaded obstructionist of an investigation — if not a conspiratorially complicit participant — into a scheme to rip-off taxpayers through the New Orleans Affordable Homeownership program to gut flooded homes.

Congratulations to Karen Gadbois for earning recognition in a prestigious journalism award as a result of her tenacity in the search for the truth. When Ray Nagin pens his book, he should dedicate a chapter to how this hero uncovered the greatest impediment to the recovery of New Orleans — the incompetence and malfeasance of Ray Nagin himself.

Ray Nagin’s NOAH program is the centerpiece of one of the most illustrious awards in professional journalism. The Investigative Reporters and Editors reviewed more than 800 stories in 2008, and has bestowed its highest honor, the IRE medal, to a single recipient, Lee Zurik, who based his investigations on leads uncovered by Gadbois.

To all those who want to thank Gadbois for her tireless dedication to integrity and a more robust recovery of this beloved city, you should know that she has done this largely on her own time — as a selfless citizen soldier. Gadbois has fought against the injustices committed by a corrupt political class against people most in need of assistance, sacrificing her own well-being — as one must in order to detach oneself from the constraints of institutions of power. If you want to honor this work to fight for the cultural heritage of New Orleans, and to stop the exploitation of the powerless, then support the continuation of her work.

And to all of the television stations who have earned countless tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue on all of the stories Gadbois has uncovered for them, you should consider how you can support this ongoing work.

Ray Nagin is certainly getting his dues, reaping what he himself has sown.

HT: BRC for suggesting that TV stations should feature a Karen Gadbois icon in the corner of their newscasts when they feature stories which Karen originated.

Update: Ray Nagin is in good company. Zurik also won a Peabody, along with the TV series Lost, the satirical Onion newspaper (out of Madison, Wisconsin), the phony Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, and a New York Met performance of the fairy tale Hansel & Gretel.