Between the Lines: Medical Mart melodrama; city budget ideas; Innerbelt tussle

CLEVELAND -- Should the City of Cleveland's Public Auditorium be off limits to the public?  That's one question raised in the latest chapter of the Medical Mart saga.

MMPI wants to relocate the project from the corner of Ontario Steet and St. Clair Avenue to the Mall next to City Hall.

And it wants to drop a makeover of Public Auditorium as part of the deal.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson went ballistic over MMPI's slide presentation, showing a horror story of unsafe and outdated electrical and other system in the building.

He asked MMPI, "Do you really want to  be here?"

MMPI responded it's 100 percent committed to the project.

Mayor Jackson was counting on $20 million from a deal with Cuyahoga County buying the Convention Center. Now that's on hold.

Two of the Mayor's other ideas to balance the budget are facing sharp criticism.

Council members say a proposed monthly trash fee would be a hardship on poor and elderly residents.

And non-profits, like hospitals and foundations, are balking at paying a proposed "fee" to the city.

Some think a big legal  battle over a big building could delay the start of the Innerbelt bridge project. The building owner claims the state is giving him a raw deal. And two members of Congress agree.

Tom Beres discusses these issues with Channel 3 Political Analyst Dennis Eckart and Plain Dealer Politics Writer Mark Naymik on this edition of Between the Lines.