As cowboys, rodeo fans, and tourists poured into Reno for the annual Reno Rodeo, some local seniors at the 9th Street Senior Center were witnessing a different kind of roundup — one that has nothing to do with bucking broncos or barrel racing.

According to several residents who frequent the center, during the rodeo brought an unusual level of law enforcement activity to their street. Seniors say sheriff’s deputies and county employees were patrolling the area immediately outside the county fence that encloses the senior center and adjacent county facilities — an area long known to be an unofficial campsite for people experiencing homelessness.

Every year, Reno News & Review holds its beloved “Best Of” contest — a little popularity parade where locals nominate and vote for their favorites, from burgers to bands to (somehow) politicians. But this year, something smells less like civic pride and more like campaign cologne.

Apparently, it's still 2020 for Councilmembers Devon Reese and Miguel Martinez, who are hosting virtual community forum meetings. Either they’ve forgotten the world reopened… or they’ve finally accepted that no one’s showing up to their in-person events. We lean toward the latter.

Let’s be honest: when a councilmember holds a community conversation and the only attendees are a Neighborhood Advisory Board, someone from AARP, a couple of seniors and one other under 50 it’s probably time for some self-reflection. But instead of asking why nobody shows up, Reese and Martinez have decided to dodge the answer entirely—by going virtual.

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.

In a state facing real, urgent problems — skyrocketing housing costs, crumbling school infrastructure, underfunded healthcare, and overburdened services for families — one of our state legislators has sprung into action with what she clearly considers a priority emergency.

No, it’s not school funding. It’s not the opioid crisis. It’s not even DMV wait times. It’s... changing the word "Assemblymember" to "Assemblyperson."

Reno Councilmember Kathleen Taylor is hosting a public forum, but don't call her "Councilmember"—she's billing herself as "Vice Mayor Kathleen Taylor."

Here's the thing: nobody elected her to that position. Vice mayor isn't a democratic choice—it's a rotating assignment that gets passed around the council like a ceremonial gavel. One day you're Councilmember Smith, the next day you're Vice Mayor Smith. It's not exactly a mandate from the people.

County Manager Eric Brown's June 30th retirement marks the end of a five-year stint—and the beginning of some uncomfortable questions about how Washoe County hires, and potentially rewards, its top executives.

As the county gears up to hire another pricey headhunter firm to find Brown's replacement, it's worth remembering how well that worked out last time. In 2019, Washoe County paid handsomely for professional recruitment services, only to end up with a candidate pool so thin that former Commissioner Marsha Berkbigler had to personally call her old friend and former boss Eric Brown to convince him to apply.

While Reno’s senior citizens were being quietly kicked off the city’s funding bus, Mayor Hillary Schieve was boarding an actual one a few weeks later — or more accurately, a plane bound for sunny Tampa, Florida, for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

You might remember on May 5, 2025, Schieve claimed she wasn’t going to “die on the hill” defending Reno’s $15,000 annual membership in the very same mayoral conference. But guess what? She didn’t die on the hill — she flew right over it. Business class, anyone?

In the always-entertaining world of Northern Nevada politics, career paths have a funny way of curving in on themselves like a cul-de-sac. Case in point: former Washoe County Registrar of Voters Jamie Rodriguez, who has landed herself a new gig at NVR Government Affairs, the lobbying arm of Nevada REALTORS® — a group that checks notes advocates for private property rights and, well, keeping taxes in check.

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

When your city is drowning in a $25 million deficit, every dollar counts—except, apparently, when it comes to conference travel.

Mayor Hillary Schieve jetted off to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Tampa, Florida, leaving Renoites to wonder about the city's spending priorities. While residents have been told the budget crisis is so severe that neighborhood advisory board meetings—those pesky forums where actual citizens get to voice concerns—had to be axed to save on employee time costs, somehow there was still room in the budget for a Florida excursion.

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.

Well folks, it seems summer is officially here—and the new hot spot in Washoe County is none other than the bike path along the Truckee River. Forget parks, backyards, or permits. A reader recently sent us a video showing homeless folks with a barbecue setup, turning the riverside into Reno’s unofficial open-air smokehouse.

Naturally, this raises a few questions. Chief among them: can the rest of us join in?

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?

There’s more at stake than you think.

The Washoe County Library System stands at a crossroads, so pay attention. The trustees—volunteers who’ve worked tirelessly to craft a sustainable budget—are now seem to be under fire, not from the public, but from within. In recent meetings, it’s been clear: some library employees are publicly challenging the very board that’s been working to stabilize and strengthen the system. Why?

Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson never shies away from a good social media sparring match, and his latest post suggests he’s less than thrilled about termed-out Councilmember Charlene Bybee jumping into the mayoral race. His message? If Bybee wants his seat, she’ll have to do more than mimic his policies and post photo ops.

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.

The Republican Women of Reno have been stirring more than coffee at their monthly meetings. Whispers of mandatory background checks for members, you know to keep the bad actors out of the club, caused such a ruckus that it might've been heard all the way to Sparks — which, ironically, might soon be rising from the ashes like a conservative phoenix.

In a June 5, 2025 Facebook post encouraging residents to sign up for emergency alerts, the city offered some unsolicited life advice: stop doomscrolling on your phones. Because nothing says "quit your doom-and-gloom scrolling habit" quite like signing up for government emergency notifications that will ping your device.

It's June—graduation season, wedding season, the time when Reno actually remembers it has beautiful weather. Yet somehow the city's communications team decided this sunny month was the perfect time to assume their residents are all trapped in endless cycles of bad news consumption.