Despite Rhetoric, Businesses Eye Bottom Line

Second of two parts

In the tense weeks before Cleveland finally snagged the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the local school board objected to giving up some $800,000 a year in property taxes--a critical incentive to help build the music shrine.

Board members opposed the plan, which called for diverting taxes on another property to help finance the construction. Business leaders fumed that school officials would stall a project that might polish the city's "mistake on the lake" image. The mayor and a local congresswoman intervened...