State Rep. David Linsky of Natick and some other MetroWest pols are making the proposal - and say it would raise enough to eliminate not just turnpike tolls, but tolls on the Tobin Bridge and the harbor tunnels. Don't worry: We'd still tax New Yorkers and, um, Connecticutters via tolls at the state lines (why not New Hamphirites and Vermonters, too, though?). Gov. Patrick recently sorta, kinda came out in favor of an increase.

The Blue Mass. boys talked to Deval Patrick yesterday about sealing wax and things and Jim Aloisi. Patrick explains why he picked the lawyer who helped give us the Big Dig in its current configuration to reform transportation in the state. Among other things:

... One thing that is helpful to me is that he knows where the bodies are buried. And you know, the sad reality is that we have to dig up a lot of those bodies, and bury them properly. ...

Enid O'Donnell reads about the plans to shut the West Newton turnpike ramp, at least temporarily, and wonders what in the world the turnpike authority was thinking. She e-mails:

Our new transportation secretary, appointed in the middle of a snowstorm for minimum effect, tells the Globe he doesn't know what "Big Dig culture" means:

When asked yesterday whether he was a part of the Big Dig culture, Aloisi said: "I don't even know what that phrase means."

At Blue Mass. Group, David provides a handy little primer for Mr. Aloisi - whose new boss made getting rid of "Big Dig culture" part of his campaign, concludes:

... The unanswered question -- for Aloisi, for the Governor, and for all of us -- is whether Aloisi is the right guy to navigate the state's transportation bureaucracy out of that culture, and into the new era of reform that we've been promised. For all of our sakes, I sure hope so.

Is that woman flipping him the bird?

Flush with the success of their effort to completely bollix up the turnpike by paying tolls in pennies (oh, wait, that didn't work too well, did it?), the Stop the Pike Hike people are now having a guy in a chicken suit follow Deval Patrick around until he agrees to a debate on the merits of KFC vs. Burger King the proposed massive turnpike toll hike. He is shown here waiting for Patrick to exit the State House.

Don't really want to cause chaos on local roads.

Stop the Pike Hike.

Globe: Leasing Pike may pay off, but at cost.

Count the Outraged Liberal as a skeptic:

... Privatization of the Pike is the equivalent of a junkie getting a quick fix. The state gets an upfront high (assuming anyone has a few spare billions to toss around in today's economy). Pay off the debt and have enough leftover to deal with all of our other transportation problems.

No one ever said junkies think rationally.

And what happens when the private entity takes over? Does anyone think it will treat its multi-billion dollar investment as a charity? What happens when the tunnel walls start resembling sieves again? ...

The Globe reports: Huge bill could soon come due for Turnpike.

Dan Kennedy asks: Why not let it go bankrupt?

... Regardless of why and how all this happened, the idea that the Legislature can't replace something stupid (toll hikes) with something smart (a higher gas tax) because of deals that the Pike negotiated in the credit market smacks of extortion. ...

The Outraged Liberal considers a possible real motive behind the humongous toll increases approved by the turnpike authority yesterday: Put pressure on the legislature to increase the gas tax.

He notes the tolls don't take effect until February or March, and not until after a public hearing (where will they hold that? Gillette Stadium?).

... Presumably, that would be enough time for Deval Patrick and legislators to get off their, um, sidelines, and approve a comprehensive plan to tackle the transportation nightmare (hey, throw in the disaster known as the MBTA while you are at it.) ...

Dan Kennedy on the turnpike authority: What, are they insane?

Jay Fitzgerald predicts we'll wind up with a toll increase, a gas-tax hike and the transfer of turnpike "hacks" to a new state authority. He uses a classic cartoon to illustrate how he feels this morning.