The Uptown paper of record is reporting this AM that CATS’ Teamster bus drivers approved a new contract Tuesday night. The new Rhino Times out today quotes a McDonald Transit Associates official saying on Wednesday that no contract has been agreed to by the union and McDonald, the management firm which CATS hires to run the bus fleet.

Something is not right, here.

Maybe Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph should investigate the mysterious inner workings of CATS the same way Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is investigating the Phoenix transit system after repeated cost overruns and management missteps. There a 20-mile system is set to open in December 2008 at a cost of $1.4 billion.