Political Tidbits

Local: Travis County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a controversial 1,800-home Hill Country development project known as Sweetwater. Sweetwater will cover roughly 1,000 acres with its main entrance at the intersection of Texas 71 and Bee Creek Road. Residents and environmentalists have said the area is already stressed by booming development. Christy Muse, executive director of the Hill Country Alliance, said that "questionable" actions by the commissioners allowed the project to fall under the state's grandfathering rules, which leaves the Sweetwater project exempt from the new environmental regulations.
State: Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht received an admonition, his third since 1997, from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for his role in supporting the Harriet Miers U.S. Supreme Court nomination last year. The Commission concluded that Hecht violated two canons of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct, which address the endorsement of a candidate for any public office and lending the prestige of the judicial office to advance the private interests of others. Hecht plans to contest the charges, claiming that he has the First Amendment right of free speech to comment as he did.
National: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, whose office was searched over the weekend in connection with allegations of bribery, asking him to resign from the House Ways and Means Committee. This is the guy who was videotaped accepting money from a Virginia businesswoman who was cooperating with investigators. Of course he is innocent, but we're curious about the $10,000 - in marked bills - that he hid in a freezer in one of his homes.
World: Iran is now requesting direct talks with the U.S. about its nuclear program. The request follows a May 8 letter, requesting the same, to President Bush which was fully endorsed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This is in stark contrast to Iran's previous stance regarding communications with the U.S., a.k.a. "the Great Satan." A former government official and analyst in Tehran stated that, "This is a sign of changing strategy. They realize the situation is dangerous and they should not waste time, that they should reach out."
Weird: A sex theme park is set to open in London's West End later this year. The theme park will include life-sized silicone-made models which visitors can touch in order to discover erogenous zones. The Austinist is planning a trip to this theme park later this year, so keep checking this site for details (totally kidding…..maybe).