[Happy Birthday to Bronx native Colin Powell who gave us this awesome rendition of “Call Me Maybe” on CBS last summer.]

Welcome to the latest edition of the Bronx News Roundup. These are the Bronx stories we’re following today.

Weather: Gorgeous, sunny and in the mid-50s today and tomorrow. Rain possible on Sunday.

So much controversy and corruption this week. Let’s get to it, starting with the complex story of how the feds were able to stick Assemblyman Eric Stevenson with bribery charges.

It appears Bronx Assemblyman Nelson Castro has been working on behalf of law enforcement agencies as well as his constituents since soon after he took office in 2009.

As part of a deal he cut with the Bronx district attorney’s office after being indicted on perjury charges in the summer of 2009 (most likely stemming from his testimony during legal proceedings that accused him of voter fraud in 2008), Castro agreed to help the DA’s office and, later, the U.S. Attorney’s office to build corruption cases against his fellow lawmakers. He also agreed to step down from his position after charges were brought against assembly colleague Eric Stevenson. The New York Times does a good job of filling in the details.

In his statement yesterday, Castro said he cooperated in other investigations as well, prompting the Daily News and others to wonder if more charges against other lawmakers are coming.

Former Bronx Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, who represented the Bronx’s 79th District eights years before Stevenson took over, has an interesting perspective on the recent corruption charges. Benjamin’s predecessor in the 79th District was Gloria Davis, who was also felled by bribery charges. In an op-ed for the NY Post, Benjamin writes that [Stevenson and Davis] “bookended” his service and that their “disgrace is another blow to the chest of honest people in Morrisania and Crotona Park East in The Bronx.”

Benjamin also offers up some solutions, including new legislation that would require lawmakers convicted of corruption to forfeit their pensions — Davis, Efrain Gonzalez, Pedro Espada, will all continue to receive government checks. He says state representatives should also be paid more, saying “low pay discourages honest and capable New Yorkers from seeking legislative office—opening the door to the grifters and hustlers looking for a steady paycheck, a modicum of respectability and a chance to steal.” (Note: New York State legislators make around $80,000 a year, not exactly peanuts.)

Today’s front page Times story on South Bronx environmental “hero” Majora Carter is stirring up quite a controversy around the borough’s most decorated activist who now runs her own consulting firm. Carter was hired by FreshDirect to help the online grocer ease its move to the South Bronx waterfront, but says she would have supported the move anyway because of the “net gain” it provided for the borough because it will provide jobs and access to quality foods. But local activists and leaders who oppose the move because of the increased truck traffic aren’t buying it and feel betrayed.

Sustainable South Bronx, the organization Carter founded, recently announced its formal opposition to the FreshDirect move, the Bronx Times reports.

For more history on the FreshDirect battle, check out the Mott Haven Herald‘s coverage.

The <em>Bronx Times digs into what’s happening at the Kingsbridge Armory and reports that the head partner for the Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC), the leading developer for the project, wants the city to bankroll the environmental impact survey, a required part of the city’s land use review process, that could run into the millions of dollars. The BX Times also says the city is looking into fast-tracking the review process so it could be completed before Mayor Bloomberg leaves office.

Bob Kappstatter, in this week’s BX Times, writes about how Bronx GOP head Jay Savino’s arrest on bribery charges will affect the borough’s Republican party.

A new development in New Jersey is threatening the beautiful view from one of the Bronx’s treasures, Wave Hill, the Riverdale Press reports.

And finally, a couple of Bronx connections to this weekend’s Final Four match-ups:

Louisville star Russ Smith played for the Bronx-based New York Gauchos team before going to college. [Daily News]

We recently found out that Wichita St. standout Cleanthony Early (a finalist for best name in the Big Dance), went to the Bronx New School in Bedford Park before moving upstate.

Enjoy the games and the weather this weekend and please take a minute to fill out our readership survey.