Back in 2024, Commissioner Mike Clark’s attempt to direct $10,000 in discretionary funds to the Reno Toy Run blew up in spectacular fashion. The spark? A vest.

More specifically, a “swastika vest” worn by a member of the motorcycle club The Branded Few inside commission chambers — an image that Channel 4 in Reno blasted across the airwaves. Outrage followed fast, and Commissioners Mariluz Garcia and Alexis Hill jumped in to support revoking the funding.

The club, under pressure, promised to remove the symbol from their jackets. That was supposed to be the end of it.

Ah, Nevada politics — where grudges age like fine wine and nothing is ever as straightforward as it seems.

Back in the summer of 2024, after a particularly lively commission meeting, a campaign insider decided to aim a shot at Commissioner Mike Clark by filing an Open Meeting Law complaint. But instead of taking it to the Nevada Commission on Ethics — you know, the usual route for such political potshots — our insider went straight to the Attorney General’s Office. Apparently, he’s more “special” (or “in the know”) than us mere mortals.

On June 12, 2025, Reno Gazette Journal reporter Mark Robison dropped a little political grenade: a group of donors — now dubbed the “Gang of Eighteen” — were furious with Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan after he announced his candidacy for Washoe County District Attorney. Their big grievance? They wanted their political contributions back.

Yes, you read that right — refunds.

The money had originally gone to Duncan’s Sparks City Attorney race, which, thanks to a lack of an opponent, was essentially a political formality. But the Gang of Eighteen didn’t care about campaign technicalities. They staged their outrage publicly, then (for added flair) leaked it to the press.

We get it. They love to call Picon hack journalism. Politicians and their entourage of pearl-clutching staffers practically salivate at the chance to wag a finger and shout, “biased!” or “irrelevant” - along with a number of PAC’s, political clubs, and organizations. And yet… they can’t stop reading.

Maybe it’s because we ask the questions they’d rather not answer — like this one:

Is Governor Joe Lombardo using the wife of his chief of staff, Danielle Cherry, to quietly fundraise for his 2026 re-election campaign?

An invite dropped in our inbox: District Attorney Chris Hicks, speaking Monday, August 11th at Mimi’s Cafe. Cue the political theater.

What will he be talking about? His many misfires as DA? The ongoing Izabella Loving homicide proceedings? The Reno High School vandalism protest one could argue his office mishandled. The DA’s refusal to fulfill reasonable public record requests for two years - allowing Washoe County Government to remain insulated from public scrutiny. Or is this just a veiled attempt at “equal time” after Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan announced his DA candidacy at a luncheon hosted by a different branch of the same group in June? Watch the video - Duncan has a wonderful story about President Teddy Roosevelt as his lead-in to announcing.. Very clever Wes.

Just when you thought the courtroom drama of Michael Leonard vs. Sarah Velto, Alex Velto, Connor McQuivey, Renoites, Devon Reese, and Reese Ring Velto PLLC couldn't possibly get more absurd — the script gets another rewrite.

Fresh off the wine-splashed tension of the Belleville Bar standoff between Leonard and Reese (yes, that one) earlier this year - then the police report, and following a steady stream of filings thicker than a Tolstoy novel in the 2nd Judicial District Court, a new character bursts onto the stage: Simons Hall & Johnston.

You almost have to admire the irony.

Why is Barrett Resources representing the anti-development group Save Lakeridge while simultaneously cashing checks from the City of Sparks to push a lands bill that’s entirely about promoting development?

Save Lakeridge — that plucky group of homeowners dead-set on stopping any change to their backyard golf course — just might have outsmarted themselves into oblivion, or proved they are a bit more elitist than they would like you to think. Word on the street is they shelled out somewhere between $20,000 and $40,000 to hire none other than Chris Barrett of Barrett Resources to help defeat a master plan change that would have brought Reno a hotel, spa, world-class restaurant, and yes — even pickleball courts.

Gadzooks, Washoe County — it’s getting weird out there.

One moment, Cari-Ann Burgess, the former Interim Registrar of Voters for Washoe County, was the golden child of elections. Handpicked, praised, and defended at public meetings with the kind of confidence usually reserved for utility heroes and budget surpluses.

Now? She’s being painted as grossly incompetent — by the very same government that hired and defended her — as part of a legal strategy to dismiss her wrongful termination lawsuit.

Cue dramatic music. Enter: Bat-Signal.

It’s getting crowded in the sky over Somersett.

Between the automated license plate readers quietly capturing comings and goings, and now the appearance of a recreational drone — allegedly launched by the Somersett Homeowners Association — it seems Big Brother no longer needs a badge or a warrant. Just a Best Buy receipt and a little political cover.

But let’s back up. Because while the drone may be small, the backroom scheming flying beneath the radar is much bigger.

Once upon a time, in the sagebrush-flavored land of Reno, there lived a mighty club called the Republican Women of Reno (RWR). Known for their polished pearls, power suits, and precision-planned luncheons, they were a political force, a civic staple, and—perhaps most critically—a reliable source of hot chicken piccata and lukewarm stump speeches.

But oh, how the mighty have fumbled the buffet line.

Michael Leonard - Mike's Reno Report - first pulled back the curtain on Somersett’s use of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) — a high-tech surveillance system that sounds impressive on paper. These cameras scan and store every license plate that rolls into the neighborhood, supposedly adding a layer of security for residents. But when real-world danger showed up, the machines stayed silent, and so did the people in charge.

On July 28, Our Town Reno reported a troubling incident: a group of youths harassing young women outside a public bathroom at Somersett East Park. It's a serious allegation — one that should have prompted immediate concern from the Somersett Owners Association. But their only suggestion? "Call the police." That’s it.

While some local media was busy chasing cones at Keystone, a summer storm on Sunday, July 27 dumped hail, lightning, and a flood into downtown Reno—oh, and possibly swept away parts of the Arlington Bridge construction site. But you wouldn’t know that from your local media or the City of Reno, however RTC - Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County did step up with a post on Facebook yesterday.

Over the weekend, Reno was treated to a good old-fashioned summer storm—hail, lightning, flash flooding—and, it seems, a healthy dose of selective storytelling.

It’s that time again, Reno.

Time to dust off your “Save Our Neighborhood” signs, round up the neighbors, and once again remind Reno City Hall that residents actually live here. Because—surprise!—another developer with deep pockets and shallow plans is back with a dream: to turn part of Lakeridge into a cash cow dressed up as “community improvement.”

On August 5, 2025 at 6 p.m., head over to Bartley Ranch and hear the latest from the folks at SaveLakeridge.com about Duncan Golf Management’s shiny new revised application. The pitch? Rezone 12.5 acres for a hotel, villas, restaurants, bars, outdoor event space, six pickleball courts, two tennis courts, a pool, and a spa. All that’s missing is the monorail.

There’s a familiar smell wafting through Reno politics again, and it’s not sagebrush or summer wildfire smoke — it’s the scent of undeclared conflicts and developer dollars.

Former Reno Planning Commissioner J.D. Drakulich, a rumored, un-declared candidate for City Council Ward 2, has found himself on the receiving end of a little love letter from the Nevada Commission on Ethics. Case number 25-070 isn’t just a paperwork formality — it’s a jurisdictional determination about a potential conflict of interest that should make every Reno voter pause and ask: “Whose interests is Drakulich really planning for?”

Richard Jay—board‑hopper, Downtown Reno Partnership booster and social‑media hype man for Mayor Hillary Schieve—recently gushed that Reno is “doing a good job” downtown.¹ For residents staring at boarded‑up buildings, police lights and fresh pink slips, that appraisal lands about as well as a neon arch in a blackout.

n Washoe County, where optics often masquerade as ethics and silence is considered leadership, one prosecutor just couldn’t keep her opinions to herself—and the implications are more than just awkward.

Nicole Hicks, a prosecutor in the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office, recently found herself in a public social media dust-up with attorney Zelalem Bogale, the presumptive Democratic nominee for District Attorney. The topic? Chris Hicks—her husband and current DA—and his controversial charging decisions in the Reno High School mini-riot that many in the community disagree with.

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.

A Department of Justice (DOJ) letter gets mentioned during public comment by Penny Brock — one of those rare unicorns who both speaks at meetings and actually reads government documents.

Following Brock’s comment, someone somewhere inside the county apparently freaked out just enough to send out an internal email making it abundantly clear that the letter in question was sent to the Nevada Secretary of State — and definitely, absolutely, cross-your-heart-not-going-to-be-shared with Registrar of Voters Andrew McDonald.

In a dizzying twist of local political irony, Washoe County Library Trustee Marie Rodriguez — once a recipient of Commissioner Mike Clark’s support — appears to be smearing him as the secret ringleader of a so-called “mob” that attends commission meetings for about a year now.

In a public email to Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam, Rodriguez paints a scene fit for a made-for-TV thriller: she claims that emotionally charged public commenters, whom she labels as followers of political figure Robert Beadles, descend on county meetings and — get this — are silenced only when Commissioner Clark allegedly gives a “gesture.”

Let’s rewind the tape on a little episode of government dysfunction that Washoe County officials would now really prefer we forget — but we won’t.

At center stage is Sober 24 Testing Services, the county-run operation that was supposed to ensure accountability in the courts but instead became a hub of questionable leadership, opaque operations, and now — surprise — the focus of multiple investigations.