The Charlotte Business Journal caused a stir Friday afternoon by reporting that a move by Mecklenburg County Republican Rep. Ric Killian to reject high-speed rail money from Washington was dead.

The story, headlined “N.C. GOP leaders say yes to rail money,” opened: “Republicans in the N.C. General Assembly will drop their opposition to accepting $545 million in federal money for high-speed rail projects, state Sen. Bob Rucho told Charlotte business leaders Friday.”

From there, the story took a life of its own, becoming a blog post on the News & Observer’s Under the Dome site and then a full-blown story in the Sunday print edition.

Problem is, the original CBJ story was not accurate. At least that’s what Rucho, Killian, and a spokesman for House Speaker Thom Tillis, a third Mecklenburg County Republican, told Carolina Journal’s Anthony Greco in telephone interviews Friday afternoon.

Rucho said the GOP Senate leadership, of which Rucho is a member, doesn’t think the General Assembly can reject the money, since some already has been spent. If it did turn down the funding, the money would have to be refunded. But the caucus has made no formal decision on the matter — a point echoed in a statement by Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, Friday afternoon.

The CBJ story left a clear impression that the matter was dead. Not so, Killian said. “My bill is still alive,” Killian told Greco Friday. “I don’t know how anyone could make the statement that the GOP is dropping any opposition.”

Killian did remove House Bill 422 from the House Transportation Committee’s agenda for this week. But he said Tillis had urged him to file the bill, and a spokesman for the speaker said Tillis believes it raises important questions and should move forward.

The big question is whether (or to what degree) the executive branch of state government can make a commitment to participate in a federal program that will require ongoing state subsidies without getting the approval of — or even consulting with — the General Assembly. The rail project raises separation of powers concerns that Tillis and Killian want to be aired.

The CBJ story said Killian was unavailable for comment, though the story was updated at 3:51 p.m. Friday — about the time Greco spoke by phone with the lawmaker. Meantime, the N&O print story said Killian could not be reached Saturday, though the article does not say if an attempt was made to reach Rucho or Tillis.

[See update below.]

Stories like this move quickly, to be sure. And when a prominent member of the General Assembly makes remarks that seemingly place him at odds with his peers, it’s newsworthy. But the fact that the CBJ story remains uncorrected, and that the N&O did not interview any of the principals more than 24 hours after the Business Journal story appeared, seems sloppy.

It’s also true that the major media outlets across the state have become little more than cheerleaders for the slightly-faster-than-slow-speed rail project, making incomplete reporting like this seem mighty suspicious.

[UPDATED, 5:21 p.m. In emails, CBJ Editor Robert Morris said Killian’s office was contacted “repeatedly,” and that the paper reported what Rucho said publicly at the meeting. Morris insists the story is accurate. He would not say the story would be updated, but that “We are following this, as we’re following all significant stories in Raleigh that affect Charlotte.”]

Rick Henderson is managing editor of Carolina Journal.