CATS CEO Ron Tober says the partial open option for the South Blvd. light rail line is off the table. That means CATS will not have part of the South line up and running ahead of the November 6 vote to repeal the half-cent transit tax.

This has to be a major blow to transit tax supporters.

Forget about the November 26 open date. CATS was not really concerned about that — hitting that date would be nice and certainly a welcome change for the chronically behind schedule project. However it is an esoteric matter — like finishing fourth in the Olympics, it goes into the history books, but no one really cares.

CATS was clearly flogging Archer Western in order to get something done before election day. But problems with both the steel and plastic components of the fancy station canopies have made that impossible.

The other looming problem Tober hints at in his letter is lawsuits from subtractors unable to do their work as promised. There is much brave talk about having Archer Western cover any added cost as a result. And — surprise! — there is also renewed talk of suing Parsons Transportation Group.

Let’s cut through all the spin. CATS has two tales. One for internal consumption, one for external. CATS had evidence since June 1 that the timeline was slipping but continued to insist that all was well. There is also every sign that as the project hits crunch time lawsuits could start flying. It is pure fantasy that the city and CATS will come out of that process unscathed.

Meanwhile, the MTC plunges ahead with building more trains. As expected, the MTC rubber stamped the $373 million North line financing plan last night. That plan pledges future property tax revenue to build trains and train stations.

We need a new plan.