Pediatric vaccines: Once coronavirus vaccines are approved for children ages 5 to 11, Ohio kids will be able to get shots at schools, hospitals, local health departments and doctors offices, report Laura Hancock and Andrew Tobias. Ohio has been allotted 340,000 doses for the first week shots are available in November. So far, state officials have received orders for about 172,000 doses.

Kevin Kelley: Nearly 25 years after Kevin Kelley ran for his first public office, he’s running for mayor against another young, upstart politician. The City Council president and vice chair of the county Democratic Party is seen by some as the entrenched longtime establishment politico, but Kelley says he came to the job as an activist. Seth Richardson profiles the mayoral candidate.

Justin Bibb: Justin Bibb has heard the criticism, that he’s a kid, a newcomer with limited job and life experiences, that he’s not Black enough or has had an easy ride. Bibb has had his sights on the mayor’s office for more than a decade. His supporters say he has been gathering the knowledge and experience he will need to stand at the helm of a major American city. Seth Richardson profiles the mayoral candidate.

Campaign financing: Justin Bibb outpaced Kevin Kelley in fundraising since the Cleveland mayoral primary, though both candidates had more than $165,000 at their disposal heading into the final days of the election, Seth Richardson reports. Bibb, who won the September primary, outraised Kelley by more than $100,000 since the last filing deadline on Sept. 2. Bibb had about $46,500 more than Kelley in his campaign coffers.

Shaker Square: Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration wants to use at least $10 million in federal stimulus dollars to pay off the mortgage on the financially troubled Shaker Square and prevent a feared sheriff’s sale. Eric Heisig reports the goal is to keep the historic, 10-acre East Side complex – built in 1929 by the Van Swearingen brothers, the industrialists who erected Terminal Tower – in local control and end the threat of foreclosure that has loomed for nearly a year.

THIS WEEK IN THE CLE

Text messages show ex-Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chair Sam Randazzo overruled other commissioners and staff to secure policies that benefited FirstEnergy. Why isn’t Randazzo charged yet? And why hasn’t all of House Bill 6 been repealed? We’re asking on This Week in the CLE, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast.

STATEHOUSE & POLITICS

License plate: Gov. Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine on Thursday unveiled the new “Sunrise in Ohio” license plate design, modeled after the state seal. Andrew Tobias reports the colorful design, the first new plate since 2013, is reminiscent of the pastoral “Beautiful Ohio” license plate adapted under former Gov. Ted Strickland. When the plate was unveiled, the the iconic Wright Brothers’ airplane prototype faced the wrong direction, so Ohio BMV officials corrected the design.

Unemployment: Unemployment claims in Ohio and the nation hit their lowest levels last week since the initial days of the coronavirus crisis, indicating that layoffs are declining as many employers are struggling to find workers. Last week, 7,554 Ohioans filed first-time jobless claims, while 45,750 residents applied for ongoing benefits, Jeremy Pelzer reports.

Medicaid: U.S. Sen. Rob Portman on Wednesday argued that expanding Medicaid in 12 states that haven’t already done so would be unfair to states like Ohio that already expanded Medicaid, reports Sabrina Eaton. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich in 2014 used incentives provided by the Affordable Care Act to expand Medicaid to 700,000 low-income Ohioans.

Tamir Rice: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday told the House Judiciary Committee he couldn’t address whether the Justice Department would reopen its probe into the 2014 police killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland. Sabrina Eaton reports the question about the Tamir case was one of several during a hearing where lawmakers grilled Garland on everything from the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill to a memorandum his department issued on fighting violence against public school personnel.

Contempt: U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez joined a small group of Republicans who voted Thursday to hold former Donald Trump White House aide Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena to testify before a committee probing the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Sabrina Eaton reports Gonzalez joined nine other Republicans and all the legislative body’s Democrats in voting to refer Bannon’s case to the Justice Department for prosecution.

Tax lien: The Ohio Republican Party settled a $3,500 tax bill on Thursday after being notified it had been assessed with a property tax lien. Tricia McLaughlin, a party spokeswoman, said the Ohio Republican Party now has paid its taxes in full. Her statement did not address why the property taxes were unpaid for over a year, Andrew Tobias reports.

METRO

Sustainability: Century Cycles’ commitment to carbon-friendly commuting has again earned it kudos from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, which handed out its annual Northeast Ohio Commuter Choice Awards. Twenty-three organizations ranging from three employees to 53,000 participated in the competition to encourage people to leave their cars at home, ride bikes or to share rides with others during Cleveland’s Sustainability Summit, reports Peter Krouse.

Akron stimulus: Some Akron City Council members are at odds with council leadership and Mayor Dan Horrigan over legislation authorizing the mayor to begin spending the city’s American Rescue Plan stimulus money. Robin Goist reports Akron’s council voted 8-5 this week to empower Horrigan to spend the city’s $145 million in a process similar to the one playing out in Cleveland over the perceived lack of collaboration and transparency regarding the once-in-a-lifetime federal assistance to cities.

COVID

Case counts: Ohio averaged 419.2 cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus per 100,000 residents, the Ohio Department of Health said Thursday, a decrease from the previous week’s 507.4. Guernsey County in the eastern part of Ohio leads the state, with 1,039.2 cases per 100,000 residents, Laura Hancock reports.

School cases: Cincinnati Public Schools is once again reporting the most new coronavirus cases in the state in the latest weekly update from the Ohio Department of Health. Alexis Oatman reports the school district, the third largest in the state, had 132 new cases this week, with 116 students among the student body and 16 among staff.

CRIME

Jail director: An appeals court has rejected a request from convicted former Cuyahoga County Jail director Ken Mills to put his nine-month jail sentence on hold while he appeals his conviction. Two 8th District Court of Appeals judges on Wednesday denied a motion, filed by Mills’ attorney, asking the court to either delay his sentence or release him on bond until his appeal is completed, reports Cory Shaffer.

Jail officer: A federal judge on Thursday requested an evaluation of a former Cuyahoga County Jail guard who said he suffered a stroke last year and cannot remember his attack of an inmate in 2018. John Caniglia reports John McCloud, 28, of Parma was in the process of pleading guilty to a charge of violating the unidentified inmate’s civil rights when U.S. District Judge John Adams inquired about his health.

Adrien Broner: A judge in Cleveland threw former world champion boxer Adrien Broner in jail this week after finding that he failed to enroll in an alcohol treatment program as part of his court-ordered probation for assaulting a woman at a night club, Cory Shaffer reports.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Disney World: This month, Walt Disney World kicked off an 18-month celebration of its 50th anniversary. Susan Glaser reports the sprawling resort, carved out of 25,000 acres of former Florida swampland, attracts more than 58 million visitors in a typical year. Keys to success include creative minds devising attraction after attraction that appeal to a diversity of ages and interests, a relentless expansion strategy that entices people to return year after year, and an unparalleled commitment to customer service.

GOAT: With competition out of the picture, Simone Biles and other world-class gymnasts relaxed, took a breath, and participated in the Athleta Presents Gold Over America Tour on Wednesday in Cleveland, where they sent powerful, positive messages to fans, reports Marc Bona.

Christmas ale: Festive cheer filled Great Lakes brewpub on Thursday for the brewery’s annual Christmas Ale first-pour party. Anne Nickoloff reports the event marked the return of the local brewery’s famous beer, which will officially be available for purchase at the brewpub’s gift shop starting today, with retail distribution kicking off on Monday.

Morbid questions: Victor M. Sweeney, a licensed funeral director and mortician, once again answers the internet's burning questions about dead bodies and the funeral director profession in this video from cleveland.com’s sister site, Wired.

Jay-Z painting: New Orleans artist Jerin Beasley created a showstopper in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2021 Inductee Exhibit, which opens Sunday. Troy Smith reports the work, titled “Tree of Life,” is a 72-inch by 96-inch oil painting depicting inductee Jay-Z in vibrant colors with his dreadlocks morphing into a tree. The canvas has had quite the journey to Cleveland.