Sentencing reform: Two Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judges doled out disparate sentences this week to women who stole public money in separate cases, reigniting calls to create a statewide sentencing database to ensure judges mete out fair punishments. Leaders of Black faith organizations, labor organizations, current and former judges and social activist groups tell Cory Shaffer that the stark difference between the sentences damaged the credibility of the criminal justice system. They’re calling on judges to join an Ohio Supreme Court pilot project that would create a public database to make transparent how judges sentence defendants and provide guardrails on judicial discretion that often results in unequal justice.

PUCO: Revelations that Sam Randazzo was hired to run the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio without first disclosing the millions he’d recently been paid by FirstEnergy, one of the companies he was supposed to regulate, raise questions about the vetting process for PUCO nominees. Andrew Tobias reports that now that FirstEnergy has said the payment was a bribe given in exchange for favorable state treatment, advocates have renewed calls to reform the PUCO appointment process, including proposing electing commission members or taking other steps to limit utility influence on the commission.

Redistricting: Ohio’s high-stakes process of redrawing its political maps for next year’s election and beyond officially has begun. Andrew Tobias reports the Ohio Redistricting Commission held its first meeting on Friday, a perfunctory event that lasted just seven minutes. The only news to come out of the organizational meeting was Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp’s announcement that the group is planning nine upcoming meetings to get input from the public on the state legislative and congressional maps state officials will finalize later this year.

Stimulus Watch: Cleveland’s recent surge in violent crime could prompt the city to spend a sizable chunk of its $511 million in federal stimulus funding on the police department – but is that the best way to make the city safer? While some in City Hall consider spending American Rescue Plan money on hiring police officers or buying police equipment, Robin Goist reports some activists don’t think any stimulus money should support the police department, which has been under a consent decree with the Department of Justice since 2015.

This Week in the CLE: The Cleveland Indians have struck a deal for a $435 million upgrade of Progressive Field. We’re talking about whether the taxpayer funding will become an issue in the Cleveland mayoral or City Council races on This Week in the CLE, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.

Special episodes: Seth Richardson and Chris Quinn interview Cleveland’s mayoral candidates on special episodes of This Week in the CLE. Up first are Zack Reed and Kevin Kelley.

Mayoral endorsement: In this pivotal moment for Cleveland, the first mayoral election in 20 years without an incumbent, cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer endorse Justin Bibb as the candidate with the vision for the successful city we wish to be.

Mayoral reaction: Cleveland mayoral candidates are generally receptive of the Progressive Field deal, despite its heavy reliance on public money. Seth Richardson reports the issue has a chance to become a flashpoint in the race to succeed four-term Mayor Frank Jackson, who is retiring and helped broker the agreement as one of his final acts in office.

Guardians: Two weeks ago, the Cleveland Indians announced Guardians as the new team name, two weeks before they unveiled a proposal to extend the team's lease and revamp the stadium at a cost of $435 million, two-thirds paid by taxpayers. Officials say the timing was coincidental and that the announcements were made independently, as soon as they were ready. But could the timing help? Hannah Drown talks to experts.

COVID deaths: Another 26 Ohio residents have died with the coronavirus, according to federal data released Friday, bringing total deaths in the state during the pandemic to 20,556, Laura Hancock reports. The Ohio Department of Health reported 1,666 more cases on Friday, bringing the total since the beginning of the outbreak to 1,138,600.

Kid quarantine: Although the overall goal of officials at the Ohio departments of health and education is for children to attend in-person school five days a week, if your kids attend a school with lax masking, social distancing and cleaning and other prevention policies, they may be sent home to quarantine when they are exposed to the coronavirus in the classroom, Laura Hancock reports.

Vaccinated vs. unvaccinated cases: The number of unvaccinated Ohioans who are hospitalized with the coronavirus is exponentially higher than vaccinated hospital patients -- 98.4% to 1.6% since Jan. 1, reports Laura Hancock. Gov. Mike DeWine held his first briefing in months Friday as the delta variant rages throughout the state. Between July 4 and July 17, 86.4% of lab-sequenced cases were the delta variant, compared to less than 1% in May.

Vax-a-million: A new study from Harvard University suggests Ohio’s Vax-a-Million lottery was successful in getting more than 100,000 additional Ohioans to get in line for the COVID-19 vaccine. Julie Washington reports this contradicts an earlier study from Boston University School of Medicine suggesting that Vax-a-Million was not associated with an increase in COVID-19 vaccination rates in Ohio.

COVID timeline: New York City will require proof of vaccination to enter all restaurants, fitness centers and indoor entertainment venues, Marc Bona reports in his latest weekly coronavirus timeline.

Long-haul kids: A U.K. study found fewer than one in 20 children infected with the coronavirus were “long haulers,” with symptoms persisting more than four weeks, reports Evan MacDonald. The study found nearly all of those “long haulers” were fully recovered after eight weeks.

Disturbances at jail: Nine inmates refused to re-enter their individual cells for lockdown Saturday morning and began damaging plumbing in a housing unit at the Cuyahoga County Jail, prompting guards to disperse pepper balls to de-escalate the situation. No inmates or guards were injured in the disturbance that happened about 9 a.m. Saturday, Jane Morice reports. Also Saturday, a fight between inmates at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center on the city’s East Side overnight Saturday left one of the facility’s housing units significantly damaged, Morice reports.

Hall of Fame: It was the big weekend for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. Marc Bona covers the Classes of 2020 and 2021 as they are enshrined, lauding the journey that brought them there.

Sunday festivities: The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined eight men in the class of 2021 Sunday, honoring a slate of players ranging from a pioneering coach to one of the game’s all-time greatest quarterbacks. And it was an Ohio native, Charles Woodson, the final honoree, who emotionally and emphatically expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the shared journey to reach the Hall of Fame, Marc Bona reports.

Canadian border: After 17 long months, Americans will finally be able to visit Canada again – some of us, anyway. Closed to all but essential travelers (and a handful of others) since March 2020, the border is open to fully vaccinated Americans today, reports Susan Glaser.

RTA: The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Board and Commission announced Friday afternoon that it would allow the public to attend its meetings starting Tuesday after the board forced people who wanted to attend July’s meeting to do so virtually, Kaylee Remington reports.

Protest payout: The city of Cleveland has agreed to pay $35,000 to a protester beaten by an officer during a demonstration against police brutality. John Caniglia reports the city settled its lawsuit brought by Ryan O’Connor of Cleveland in U.S. District Court.

Zoo lawsuit: The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on Friday dropped its legal fight over one of its largest attractions, the Asian Lantern Festival. John Caniglia reports attorneys for the Metroparks commissioners filed a notice in federal court in Cleveland dismissing its lawsuit against the Pittsburgh Zoo, which hosts a similar festival using the same name.

Clock repair: Walking across the worn wood floors of the Cleveland Clock Repair shop is like stepping back in time, which is just how owner Michael Daniel likes it. Brian Albrecht reports that Daniel, 33, is a young man in a centuries-old and fading craft, battling against the tide in an analog world gone digital and disposable.

Centennial: The landmark Huntington office building took an important step Friday toward a $450 million conversion featuring affordable apartments, plus exhibits of vintage aircraft and automobiles in a ground-level banking hall. Steve Litt reports the City Planning Commission voted unanimously on Friday to approve plans for the initial exterior restoration of The Centennial at 925 Euclid Avenue, originally built in 1924 as the Union Trust Building.

Black leaders: Cleveland marketing firm Touch Cleveland will launch a new YouTube series designed to celebrate the city's Black senior leaders aged 70 and over. “Roses: Living Legends” is part of the agency’s Unspoken: Community and Business Conversations lineup, which will run from Aug. 15-20, reports Cameron Fields.

Refill shop: Little Spark Refill Shop, formerly known as Better World Refill Shop, has seen a massive rise in business since opening in October 2020 in a small Lakewood storefront. Now the business has moved to Rocky River with a more spacious location at 19136 Old Detroit Road -- and a second location in Chagrin Falls set for September, Anne Nickoloff reports.

Hospital scenes: Trauma surgeon Annie Onishi takes a look at more emergency room and medical scenes from a variety of television shows and movies and breaks down how accurate they really are in this video from cleveland.com’s sister site, Wired.

House of the Week: A 2009-built stone-and-shingle home offers five bedrooms and six bathrooms (four full) in nearly 8,000 square feet, reports Joey Morona. The house is nestled on five peaceful acres full of mature trees and that includes 240 feet of Chagrin River frontage. It's listed at $2.25 million.