On July 1, 2025, in a move that shocked absolutely no one paying attention to the county’s pattern of “we love you, we loathe you,” staff invited CAB members to re-engage — this time to help with the Washoe County Evacuation Study. Yes, the same CABs that county employees previously rolled their eyes at, allude to the time suck the CABs require, and quietly plotted to dissolve like an unwanted committee meeting on a Friday afternoon.

The Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation (TMPF), once a staple of local conservation and community programming in Northern Nevada, has announced it is shutting down operations effective immediately. Staff have been laid off, programs are ending one by one, and the community is being left without services that once thrived under the organization’s stewardship.

The cause? What’s being described as significant financial mismanagement by former Executive Director Heidi Anderson.

A contentious online exchange highlights the urgent need for third-party verification of county homelessness claims.

A heated social media exchange between two local figures has crystallized a critical question that Washoe County officials have been avoiding for years: Why won't they allow an independent audit of their homelessness programs and spending?

After hiring outside consultants to evaluate its County Managers Office leadership dysfunction, Washoe County got exactly what it paid for: a detailed Raftelis report outlining what many residents have known for years—there’s a breakdown in trust, communication, and strategic priorities at the top.

But instead of focusing on the actual substance of the report—like rebuilding credibility or creating a strategy that doesn’t resemble a bureaucratic scavenger hunt—Commissioner Mariluz Garcia had a different takeaway: Let’s move commissioner comments to the end of meetings. Because obviously, the real problem here is the order of the agenda, not the disconnect between elected officials and the public they serve.

Washoe County might want to invest in mucking boots — not just for the fairgrounds, but for the growing pile of bureaucratic nonsense it keeps stepping in. This week’s rodeo stunt? A memo quietly urging county employees to work from home because gasp... the Reno Rodeo makes it hard to park.

Let’s get this straight: After over 100 years of the Reno Rodeo, now it’s too difficult for county employees to do their jobs from the office? Welcome to the Wild West, folks, where public servants apparently clock in from the couch when parking gets inconvenient.

Once again, Washoe County's Human Services Agency has proven they fundamentally don't understand the people they're supposed to serve. In a masterclass of poor communication, the county announced today that the senior center would be closing June 30th for 14 days of flooring work.

Seven days' notice. For a 14-day closure. To people who live by their calendars and plan their lives around routine and reliability. Let’s remember the last ‘remodel’ of the 9th Street Senior Center was delayed by a couple of weeks - could that happen in Sparks - sure Washoe County Government doesn’t care. This is the same pattern of not caring on the part of the county staff the art of not giving a damn

Remember back on February 5, 2025 Washoe County Commission Chair Alexis Hill and now retiring County Manager Eric Brown told us they have homelessness under control. Hill told the Nevada Legislature’s Senate Committee on Government Affairs that Washoe County had reduced homelessness by 40%. Now you all remember the media sort of tore that number apart and the propaganda princesses at Washoe County put a new spin on it trying to invent a way to explain the ridiculous claim.

Based on our story yesterday about the homeless barbeque along the river we thought this increased tax wallet grab is a good reminder of all that money residents are spending on the homeless, for what? And now Commissioner Alexis Hill wants more of your hard earned cash.

In a move that left many political watchers blinking in disbelief, Washoe County Commissioner Mike Clark—long known for his rocky history with Assistant County Manager Kate Thomas—cast a yes vote to appoint her as interim County Manager.

Yes, ‘that’ Kate Thomas. The same one Clark has previously clashed with over records, process, and power.

So what changed?

Back in April 2021, then-Washoe County Assessor (now Commissioner) Mike Clark stumbled upon a manila envelope mysteriously left on his office chair. Inside? A hodgepodge of public documents involving elected officials, lobbyists, and one particularly eye-catching photo: a bikini-clad assistant county manager lounging poolside, back tattoo and all, marked as a federal court exhibit. Naturally, Clark thought the envelope was compelling enough to share—so he mailed copies to roughly 160 of Washoe County’s “movers and shakers.”

That’s when things blew up.

Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan has announced his candidacy for Washoe County District Attorney, setting the stage for a potential showdown with incumbent Chris Hicks. While Duncan's tenure in Sparks has been marked by a commitment to transparency and community engagement, Hicks' record on public access to records has been less than stellar.

Three Candidates, Two Spots, Zero Citizen Representation

The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority board nominations currently under consideration perfectly illustrate everything wrong with how Northern Nevada's political establishment operates. Three candidates are vying for two open City of Reno positions, and each one raises serious questions about whether anyone is actually representing the interests of Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County residents—or if this is just another exercise in political back-scratching and insider dealing.

Let's examine this trio of candidates and ask the uncomfortable questions that our elected officials apparently hope we're too distracted to notice.

In a move that’s raising eyebrows and red flags, Washoe County Commission Chair Alexis Hill is now at the center of an amended complaint/lawsuit that suggests a troubling breach of ethics — one that may have compromised the independence of Washoe County’s elections office during a pivotal election cycle.

If there’s one position more unstable than a Nevada slot machine on dollar night, it’s the Registrar of Voters in Washoe County. And once again, the revolving door is spinning—with lawsuits, cover-ups, whispers, and one very quiet County Manager in the eye of the storm, who just was missing for a month.

Since County Manager Eric Brown took the reins in November 2019, he’s burned through four registrars. Four. At this point, you’d have better luck keeping a cactus alive in a snowstorm than holding down that job under Brown’s management. And what’s the excuse? According to the county, it’s “threats” against election officials.

Picon was curious why yesterday's Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting wrapped up so quickly. The reason became clear when Commission Chair Alexis Hill made an appearance at the school district meeting shortly afterward. It seems the brief commission meeting was timed so Chair Hill could make it to the school district meeting and seize her fifteen minutes of fame.

Commissioner Hill went onto discuss a ‘great success’ RTC program that was launched last year by the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County but gave us no data.

Chief Judge Lynne Jones has been sounding the alarm about radon levels in Washoe County's historic courthouse—you know, that building failing radon tests and creating an unhealthy workspace for the people who serve our community daily. Yet County Manager Eric Brown and his crack team of direct reports continue treating her concerns with all the urgency of a golf tee time.

As Chief Deputy District Attorney Mary Kandaras enjoyed her retirement sendoff of cookies and flowers from Commissioner Clara Andriola at Tuesday's Washoe County Commission meeting, one question hung in the air like stale bureaucratic smoke: Will her departure make accessing public records easier, or are we about to discover based on an old saying, that the devil we knew was preferable to the devil we don't?

In a perfect example of government logic, Washoe County has decided to replace RISE - Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality, as the operator of Our Place—the facility serving homeless women and children—despite RISE doing a competent job since the facility opened.

Why the change? That's where things get interesting.

Drew Ribar is suing Washoe County—and now, he's suing for the right to film it.

Ribar wants to record and post videos of court depositions from his lawsuit against the county, bringing transparency to a process often kept in the shadows. The depositions involve public employees. Taxpayer-funded. Government representatives. Yet the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office is fighting to keep the cameras off, citing vague “threats of harm” if the footage goes public.

When Campaign Cash Comes with Handcuffs: Should Kromer's Political Donations Be Returned?

The arrest of Stephen Kromer of formerly of Kromer Investments (he resigned from his family’s firm back in February 2025 when these charges started to bubble up) on 31 criminal counts took place May 16, 2025. With $9.1 million in taxpayer money allegedly vanished from a failed rural internet project, the spotlight now turns to those who benefited from Kromer's political generosity before his fall from grace.

Today at the Club at Arrowcreek there is a gathering put together by a lobbyist and Homeowners' Associations from some of Reno's most exclusive enclaves for what they've billed as a "Fire Disaster Summit" – though "Fundraising Expedition" might be more accurate.