Steve Koff
stevekoff.bsky.social
Steve Koff
@stevekoff.bsky.social
Retired Washington Bureau Chief for Cleveland Plain Dealer, in touch with public affairs/politics/journalism when not involved in music (often), golf (poorly) and ice cream (preferbly Graeter’s).
Asking again because no one else is: How much $ could be saved if Congress would end ACA subsidies for millionaires? This is a popular entitlement for affluent early retirees. Advisers talk it up. Press is blind to it, missing a damn good story that could spark outrage.
June 2, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Sam Koff (SKOFF) has some new and rearranged electronica, house & jazzy music out today, a side project with friends. I haven’t had a chance to listen fully but I hear I’m on it. open.spotify.com/album/0Cp7Nq...
Tanook33 Era Transmissions
Skoff · Album · 2025 · 16 songs
open.spotify.com
May 20, 2025 at 12:48 PM
@williamsburgindie.bsky.social
2. I appreciate what you do. But I find no one is putting this all in terms that are clear: What did it cost me, & what’s it gonna cost me with the newly approved budget? Show me over 3 or so years. That would be a big public service.
May 18, 2025 at 11:31 PM
@williamsburgindie.bsky.social 1. Can you put numbers to the rising JCC property tax load, using average or median home prices, so we better understand the changes? Take a home valued at X. What did owner pay before new assessments? (Back out the reassessment.) After? And now with new budget?
May 18, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Have the big Cleveland law firms steered clear of backing Perkins Coie? Looks like it.

www.mto.com/wp-content/u...
www.mto.com
April 5, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Steve Koff
McKinley Dixon - "Sugar Water"

McKinley Dixon is the best rapper you've never heard of. I had the pleasure of seeing him twice at Mile of Music 4-5 years ago, and he was a expert mc then. Since then, he has become a master.
McKinley Dixon - Sugar Water (feat. Quelle Chris & Anjimile) (Official Lyric Video)
YouTube video by McKinley Dixon
youtu.be
March 3, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Talk about an album that stands the test of time. Simple, understated playing (except the orchestral stuff) and production, brilliant songs. And “Alabama” is a masterpiece protest song that works on every level, from lyrics to vocals to guitar.

youtu.be/d1neNOmxGAc?...
February 2, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Reposted by Steve Koff
If you're inclined to write "far from the stereotypical..." and then some ethnic group -- literally any ethnic group -- maybe rethink that
Seems like a weird thing on the part of the NYT to say in this obit for a family (💔) who died in the DC plane crash.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/u...
February 1, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Great analysis from Bloomberg Law of a Trump action that has to thrill large companies. They disdain this agency & have tried for years to declaw it.

news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
Trump’s Blow to Tiny But Powerful Contractor Watchdog: Explained
President Donald Trump last week gutted the core enforcement power of the US Department of Labor watchdog that polices federal contractors for anti-discrimination and affirmative violations, leaving c...
news.bloomberglaw.com
January 31, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Does anyone know whether/how this will affect the Brent Spence Bridge, tying Cincinnati to Kentucky? Took a long time to get this funded. Kentucky voted hugely for Trump, so if you’re looking for irony, there’s that.

www.politico.com/news/2025/01...
Trump kicks off potentially messy fight over Biden’s infrastructure money
One of Trump's executive orders could imperil billions in funding for projects that states have already begun working on, some experts said.
www.politico.com
January 22, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Sure with more reporters would catch up with this. I know the sheer number of EOs is overwhelming, but this, too, deserves coverage.
Thank you, Trump voters.
Trump just literally eliminated an Executive Order to reduce the price of prescription drugs. They are ripping you off, personally. They never gave a shit about the price of anything.
January 21, 2025 at 2:40 PM
An open-air bazaar has replaced a black market of influence-peddling. It’s unsettling to reporters who are used to having to dig around for evidence of pay-to-play, but it’s fascinating to watch everyone say the quiet part out loud.

www.semafor.com/newsletter/0...
Semafor Business: No time for subtlety | Semafor | Semafor
In today’s edition, scoops on Trump’s Davos plans and the US Steel takeover fight, plus Bill Ackman chases his idol, Warren Buffett — again.
www.semafor.com
January 14, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Steve Koff
In a first-of-its-kind ruling in #Florida, an appeals court said a drug-sniffing dog’s alert did not justify police searching a car because the dog could not differentiate between medical marijuana and illegal pot. www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2...
Florida marijuana case could change police searches of vehicles
A judge wrote that “dogs trained to alert on cannabis can no longer provide the sole basis for a stop or search.”
www.tampabay.com
January 9, 2025 at 2:41 PM
A perfect Costco boycott would be when too few do it to hurt Costco financially, but enough do it so that crowds thin out and you never have to wait in line again for more roasting chickens ($4.99) to finish.
January 3, 2025 at 1:10 AM
2. Having been in all those roles, I never read those stories because I see the cynicism behind them. Telling reporters to go find a good evergreen is more rewarding for all, especially the readers.
December 31, 2024 at 6:20 PM
1 Not such a secret, but these year-end stories recapping big stories of the year? They’re assigned in advance so editors have stuff to run. Newer reporters are OK with it, but editors want everyone to participate, & veteran reporters sigh & say Oh, crap, a made-up story for when we’re out of news.
December 31, 2024 at 6:16 PM
A perfect New Year’s Eve-morning album to end any year, especially this one.
December 31, 2024 at 2:11 PM
Played music tonight and came home to catch up on news. Bad, sad, contentious stuff was happening. But then I turned on Austin City Limits and Lucius was on. So glorious that none of this other sh*t mattered.
December 30, 2024 at 4:58 AM
I have failed to stop anyone from writing “long, strange trip” in Dead stories — as a device, it lost its cleverness long ago — & recent weeks were insufferable. But speaking of lyrics in stories, the lede in this Dylan biopic review is a doozy.

wapo.st/3Du5Dmp
Review | ‘A Complete Unknown’ leaves Dylan’s mystery blowing in the wind
Timothée Chalamet as a young Dylan is excellent, but it’s Edward Norton as Pete Seeger who really steals the show.
wapo.st
December 26, 2024 at 6:17 PM
Went I open email each morning & see all the Substack notifications & teases, I think this, too.
just totted up all the substacks I pay for and found myself thinking ‘wow wouldn’t it be better if all these writers were in one place and I could just pay a flat fee’ so anyway that’s how today I invented the concept of the ‘newspaper’
December 21, 2024 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by Steve Koff
Government shutdowns (and then, reopenings) are expensive for taxpayers. You'd think the head of the new govt efficiency commission would know this
December 18, 2024 at 11:28 PM