This past Monday, both Superintendent James Williams and the Buffalo Public School board submitted their reviews of the superintendent to Sister Denise Roche, president of D’Youville College. Based on these, Roche tabulates the various appraisals and delivers a presentation to the board concerning Williams’s performance over the past year. The overall process wraps up in early June.

■ The local office for State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith opened for business this past Monday. Retired heavyweight boxer and failed State Senate candidate Joe Mesi will serve as Smith’s public face in the region, but the office will be run by veteran political operative Dave Pfaff, a long-time associate of former Erie County Democratic Party chairman Steve Pigeon. (Correction: No, it won't, and I apologize to Pfaff. My source seemed good but was incorrect. Pfaff didn't get the job.) The cost of staffing and maintaining a Buffalo office for Smith has generated controversy, given the state’s budget crisis.