“Thank you, sir, may I have another?” That is the infamous response from a pledge to the Omega fraternity in the movie Animal House as he gets whacked repeatedly with a paddle by a sadistic senior member of the frat house.

But it also could be what state Highway Administrator Frank DePaola uttered under his breath when he was tapped by the Department of Transportation board of directors to be the new interim general manager of the beleaguered MBTA. It’s just the latest full travel sickness bag DePaola has been handed and asked to dispose of.

DePaola, an engineer by education and training, has been tossed into the breach several times over the last five years on a variety of transportation nightmares. Some he’s cleaned up, others he’s just held the line on, and in one case he created his own stink pile before reversing himself.

Back in 2011, the MBTA had to rip up all the concrete ties along the two Old Colony commuter rail lines because they were breaking and crumbling long before they were supposed to. They were replaced with time-honored wooden ties. It cost the transit authority more than $91 million to rip up both lines, a cost borne almost solely by the agency and taxpayers.

The manufacturer resisted paying for the replacements and the T ended up settling with them for just $6 million in cash and IOUs. DePaola, only a couple years on the job as assistant general manager for design and construction at the MBTA, was given the unenviable task of explaining to legislators why the ties had to be replaced.

When DePaola moved over to the Highway Department when Rich Davey became transportation secretary, the affable engineer had the dirty job of telling community meetings why Band-Aids were often being used in infrastructure repair because of a lack of money from Beacon Hill. If the meetings weren’t exactly a “kill the messenger” forum, there certainly was a “let’s beat this guy up because he’s here” tone to them.

When Davey left last fall, then-Gov. Deval Patrick appointed DePaola as acting secretary to handle the transition to the new administration. But Patrick and the Legislature also handed him a watered-down transportation bond bill that was even further gutted when voters rejected the gas tax indexing meant to create a stable revenue stream for transportation.

But DePaola was not without some problems of his own making. Last summer, state engineers from around New England determined a new asphalt additive that contained recycled engine oil was causing problems with paving, especially in cold climates, and reached a consensus to ban the product until more testing could be done. DePaola overruled his own engineers when the supplier sued the state. He ordered that MassDOT – and all cities and towns that receive state transportation money – use the controversial product.

Before the end of the paving season, however, problems erupted with new pavement on state highways and he quickly reversed himself, issuing a ban on any asphalt with recycled engine oil. But that was only after millions of tons of asphalt were laid down containing the additive. After the harsh winter abates, we’ll see what kind of shape the state’s highways and municipal roads are in and what the cost will be to repair whatever damage might be there.

On DePaola’s immediate agenda are getting the decaying MBTA system back up to a semblance of usefulness in bad weather and dealing with Keolis, the commuter rail operator that just reportedly fired its general manager because of the system’s poor performance. If DePaola makes sure things don’t all go to heck until a new permanent chief takes over, it will be a job well done.

–JACK SULLIVAN

BEACON HILL

Gov. Charlie Baker forces the resignations of four members of the Health Connector board, including MIT’s Jonathan Gruber.

Some legislators are now piling on and criticizing former state public safety secretary Andrea Cabral for seeking a higher pension payout designed for law enforcement officials, even though it appears she is entitled to seek the classification.

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

Fall River Mayor Sam Sutter says he will pursue a $2 million Homeland Security grant to rehire laid off firefighters whose jobs had been funded by a similar grant that ran out.

CASINOS

A healthy bit of casino hiring has already begun — at the state gambling commission, reports the Herald.

SNOWMAGEDDON

On Monday, Boston trash collectors will begin scooping up broken lawn chairs, traffic cones, and other assorted bits of detritus used to save parking spaces

Weymouth High School is scheduled to reopen Thursday after shutting its doors for nearly three weeks for snow removal as well as a vacation week.

Bridgewater-Raynham school officials say there is nothing they could have done to avoid the roof collapse of an elementary school, which one Bridgewater town official said was preventable because of warnings more than a week earlier.

Before you complain too much about how hard it is to get around with the mountains of snow and sheets of ice everywhere, consider what it’s like for an Allston couple who must rely on a wheelchair and motorized scooter to get anywhere. And the next time you moan about shoveling your sidewalk, remember this wheelchair-bound Braintree woman who grabs a shovel and acts as her own snow plow to clear a path.

The foul weather is taking a toll on fowl and other area wildlife.

OLYMPICS

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell says he will lobby to bring Olympic sailing events to New Bedford Harbor should Boston win the 2024 bid.

Ninety legislators have now signed on to a bill that would create a state commission to over an Olympic bid and give the governor final veto power over any state spending on the Games.

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Senate Democrats said they will support a plan by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to break a deadlock that could shut down Homeland Security. McConnell wants to separate the funding issue from a move to gut President Obama’s easing of restrictions on illegal immigrants, an action that is exposing a schism between House and Senate Republicans. Former Reagan aide Jeffrey Lord, writing in the American Spectator, says bluntly that McConnell caved.

The FCC is expected Thursday to approve net neutrality rules to guarantee equal access to the Internet, a move that is opposed by telecoms with the backing of Republicans who vow to fight the action in Congress.

The District of Columbia legalizes marijuana over congressional objections.

Foreign governments gave millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, the Washington Post reports.

Paul Bailey and Joe Diamond say we must focus on solutions, not stereotypes, in waging the war on poverty.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Suffolk Construction, which had been planning a move to the South Boston waterfront, will keep its headquarters in Roxbury after all.

TJX plans to raise the hourly wage of its US workers to $9 an hour, the Associated Press reports.

EDUCATION

The principal of a Winchendon school vows to track down cyberbullies, the Telegram & Gazette reports.

Local colleges are flocking to use Haverhill’s refurbished turf stadium field, the Eagle-Tribune reports.

HEALTH CARE

Judge overturns Maine law allowing prescription drug imports, the Bangor Daily News reports.

TRANSPORTATION

State lawmakers and transit advocates talk to The Bay State Banner about the MBTA.

A survey by AAA finds a majority of Massachusetts drivers know they’re bad behind the wheel, between running red lights, reading emails, and driving sleepy, but so what?

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Gov. Baker plans to push a regional energy approach, but his administration is offering few details so far, CommonWealth reports.

Cape Wind developer Jim Gordon still seems to be holding out hope that his offshore wind farm can get back on track, CommonWealth reports.

Greater Boston takes a look at low-income families who are struggling more than most of us this winter. Many have already drained their federal home heating assistance with plenty of cold weather remaining.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Opening arguments in the trial of accused marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will finally begin next Wednesday. Meanwhile, a friend of Tsarnaev’s who is facing prison time could find his obstruction of justice conviction thrown out following a US Supreme Court decision in a case involving a Florida fisherman.

On consecutive days, two inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Middleton killed themselves, the Eagle-Tribune reports.

MEDIA

The New York Times examines why the controversy over Fox News star Bill O’Reilly’s journalistic bona fides fits right in with and benefits his and the network’s approach.