Lights on, nobody home

Officials at the state transportation department are starting to drop faster than the fixtures in the O'Neill Tunnel.

The head of Frank Tramantozzi, the state's acting highway administrator, was the first to roll yesterday, falling on the sword over the fact it took weeks to inform higher-ups -- including Gov. Deval Patrick -- that corrosion was to blame for a light fixture toppling into traffic in early February.

But things continue to shift from bad to worse for Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan, who may be looking to revise and extend his remarks yet again on what he knew and when he knew it.

The focus will be on the smoking email, warning the problem was a "big deal" that finally worked it's way to Mullan's attention on March 1, forwarded by a deputy who had to prompt the secretary four days later on whether he had been briefed on the problem.

After that, it took three more days for Mullan to actually be briefed before he finally alerted Patrick, a month after the fixture fell.

We now have three different accounts from Mullan on what he knew and when. It's become pretty obvious whose head should be next to roll.