Dan Grabauskas

So instead of Smilin' Dan, now we have Smilin' Jim, who, it turns out was the one pushing for the MBTA fare increases Grabauskas got fired over. The Globe has copies of the e-mail.

Aloisi is the devil we don't know, Mike Mennonno writes.

Meanwhile, the Globe also reports just one member of the T board attended yesterday's hearing on those increases (and as somebody who was there, I can report that even the T's new interim general manager, William Mitchell, left halfway through, leaving COO Jonathan Davis to soldier through, especially in the last hour, when people rose to testify that a car dealer wants them dead and to declare the answer is to stop paying debts and stop going after fare evaders).

The Outraged Liberal wonders how the governor will get out of this mess:

Gives up, accepts buyout to leave the MBTA now instead of May, Channel 4 reports.

So who replaces him? And how long will his or her honeymoon last?

Outgoing Newton Mayor David Cohen has waded into the battle over MBTA leadership, writing Gov. Deval Patrick that he fully supports current T General Manager Dan Grabauskas:

Won't try to renew his contract, which is up then, WBUR reports.