In Albany, the State Assembly's Education Committee has passed a revised version of mayoral control which may be voted on by the entire Assembly as early as tomorrow. Over at the Senate,  Hiram Montserrate, the indicted former City Council member who last week defected to the Albany Republicans, hasreturned to the Democratic fold, for a Senate-splitting 31-31 tie between the parties.

Meanwhile, the mayoral control endorsements continue, at the Times, the Post, and theDaily News. Even UFT president Randi Weingarten, one-time opponent of mayoral control, has come around to the Bloomberg-Klein point of view.

Locally, the city's budget has won 'handshake' approval by the City Council -- with no guarantee that schools' funds will not be hit again. It's thought that more than 2,000 school employees will find themselves out of work in 2009-2010 -- cuts that reach beyond school offices into the classroom, affecting teachers and paraprofessionals.