Cleveland mayor agrees to work closer with businesses

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Mayor Jane Campbell is helping to establish a cooperative between her office and private businesses to help get a new convention center and more big projects for the city.
Campbell said this week that she has merged her year-old jobs task force with a comparable effort at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, which represents area businesses.
The new Core City Development Team is composed of 15 officials representing the city, Cuyahoga County government, labor and other groups.
"This is about getting stuff done," Campbell said. "We know what the work is. Now we are just doing it."
Campbell said the group will meet monthly to formulate an action plan for next year, setting deadlines for tasks related to a handful of ongoing projects including planning a convention center and lakefront development.
The Greater Cleveland Partnership laid out deadlines for several projects in its regional blueprint for action, "Cleveland on the Edge," released last month.
The partnership called for a new convention center to open by 2010.
Joe Roman, president of Greater Cleveland Partnership, said merging with the city saves time and money.