Want to know how Washoe County’s Public Defender’s Office is spending your money and fighting for justice? The annual report breaks it all down—caseloads, challenges, wins, and what it means for your community. Accountability starts with paying attention. Read on.

It started like something out of a Reno noir: an older gentleman, known for his political chatter, wine enthusiast, who enjoys conversation and an occasional glass of wine at local haunts, had an altercation at Whispering Vine on 4th Street. He felt wronged. Not physically harmed, but reputationally bruised. And like any modern citizen with a gripe and a little faith in journalism, he reached out to someone with a microphone: a local podcaster with a reputation for being plugged into the Reno political scene.

But what happened next didn’t feel like storytelling. It seems a bit like strategizing.

Picon was sent this agenda and we thought we’d share because … they’re counting on you not paying attention. Start proving them wrong.

As we receive these agendas we’re going to try to post them.

Ah, 1565 Plumas Street. A quaint little address with a not-so-quaint backstory.

Let’s rewind to June 8, 2023, when the City of Reno Planning Commission heard Case No. LDC23-00058—better known in some circles as “How Many Units Can We Squeeze Into One Parcel Before Anyone Notices?”

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.

n a decision raising eyebrows across Nevada’s political landscape, the Nevada Commission on Ethics has cleared City Councilmember Kathleen Taylor of any wrongdoing—despite substantiated concerns over her use of her campaign email address and involving her campaign infrastructure for official city business.

The ethics complaint, notably initiated by the commission’s own Executive Director Ross Armstrong, pointed to instances where Taylor allegedly blurred the lines between her campaign activities and official duties.

On June 5, 2025 at 6:00PM at the Reno City Council Chambers the Reno Planning Commission is once again being asked to perform municipal magic: transforming a landlocked property with a single access point on an already congested street into a development that somehow "harmonizes with the surrounding community."

If this sounds familiar, it's because it's become the city's standard playbook. Developer identifies unsuitable lot, city staff waves the magic wand of "housing need," and suddenly traffic nightmares become acceptable trade-offs for density.

In 2021, the residents of Lakeridge were blindsided. The Reno City Council approved a development that locals said would permanently alter the character of their quiet, golf-centered neighborhood. To add insult to injury, a former city councilmember even implied that only the “entitled” lived in Lakeridge—and that it was time for that to change.

It was a message that didn’t just sting—it stuck.

In 2024 Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan ran unopposed, but we don’t remember him speaking at a local Republican Women’s group - but now it seems he is.

Political operatives are saying they have been told Duncan is going to rung against Distrcit Attorney Chris Hicks. Is this speech in front of the largest Republican Women’s group in Washoe County sort of a campaign kick-off. We can only guess.

If you've ever sat through four or five light cycles trying to turn at Plumas and Mt. Rose during rush hour, you already know the intersection is a mess. Congested, slow, and poorly timed—it’s one of those Reno traffic nightmares locals dread.

So what’s the City of Reno’s big idea? Cram 39 housing units onto a small lot right near the jam. Because nothing says “smart planning” like piling on density without a clue how to support it.

There are rumors swirling about mayoral candidates in the City of Sparks. Picon has received a number of messages from our readers pondering if Chris Garvey will do a 2022 repeat run for mayor and asking more about silently announced mayoral candidate Wendi Rawson who owns Engine 8 Urban Winery in Sparks. Some folks are saying former Ward 5 Councilmember Kristopher Dahir will run. But come on Sparks voters, you’re basically stuck with two choices Mayor Ed Lawson, who is quietly raising money for his reelection bid and termed-out Ward 4 Councilmember Charlene Bybee, who seems to not be concerned about all that lovely money Lawson is raising, and is staying coy about her run - but telling constituents, who are contacting us, she is running. Which caused us to think Ed Lawson vs. Charlene Bybee is a study in political redundancy.

So let’s get this straight: the City of Reno is shelling out $200,000 for a mural on California Avenue—by an out-of-town artist, with no design submitted, and somehow no one on City Council knew about it? Until it came before the council last week. But let’s remember public art brings tourism to Reno, or so we’re told.

DA Chris Hicks announced he's running for a third term—and the silence from judges, lawyers, and supporters was so loud, you could hear a plea deal drop.

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.

Former Sparks City Councilmember Kristopher Dahir has long positioned the Nevada Veterans Memorial Plaza as one of his signature causes, despite not being a veteran himself. While his advocacy for veterans deserves recognition, recent developments have raised questions about his motivations and commitment.

Throughout 2024, Dahir prominently featured the memorial in his public appearances, a strategy that some observers viewed as politically motivated rather than genuinely service-oriented. Following his unsuccessful reelection bid, Dahir has seemingly pivoted to presenting himself as a marriage counselor, embarking on what appears to be a calculated media campaign, using the Nevada Veterans Memorial Plaza.

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.

Reno City Councilmember Kathleen Taylor—fresh off her 2024 council win backed by local Republicans—has now launched an "exploratory campaign" to consider a run for mayor. Translation? She’s running, she just wants to see who’s gullible enough to hop on the bandwagon again.

Let’s rewind: Taylor courted Republicans and posed with the party base. But now, with her eyes set on the mayor’s office, we’re wondering if the Nevada GOP is about to be the ex who keeps coming back for more.