The Nevada Independent reports Washoe County Commissioner and now gubernatorial candidate Alexis Hill is floating the idea of “temporary rent caps.” Sounds comforting, right? A band-aid solution wrapped in political ribbon just in time for campaign season. But here’s the question Reno and Nevada voters should be asking: once something gets enacted in government, is it ever truly temporary?

Sometimes beating a dead horse isn’t cruel—it’s journalism. Especially when taxpayers are still being forced to pay for the feed.

Earlier this year, we exposed how Mayor Ed Lawson’s pals—lobbyists Chris Barrett and Scott Bensing—scored an individual $80,000 annual contract to push a federal lands bill through Congress. That bill is deader than disco, yet Sparks continues to pay them monthly, as if the next paycheck will somehow resurrect it.

How sad is this? A recent opinion in This Is Reno reminded us of something that Councilmember Devon Reese never seems to understand: when you sign up for public office, you don’t get to pick and choose which residents you’ll interact with.

You wanted the appointment. Then you wanted the election. And yet here we are, watching Reese decide who’s “worthy” of his attention and who gets brushed off as a nuisance. Spoiler: that’s not how democracy works.

Commissioner Mariluz Garcia wants “rules of procedure” for the Washoe County Board of Fire Commissioners. Sounds harmless enough, right? Just a little housekeeping on decorum and best practices. But anyone watching closely saw what this really was: not about efficiency, not about process — but about publicly taking Commissioner Mike Clark to the woodshed.

The Reno mayoral race is starting to look crowded – or at least noisy – with three more hopefuls “exploring” the idea of running. But here’s the question: where have these would-be leaders been?

Not at the late-night City Council marathons.
Not at the Planning Commission showdowns.
Not at the Neighborhood Advisory Board meetings where real issues are hashed out.

So, Devon Reese accidentally let it slip – by listing the wrong office on an amended Nevada Secretary of State contribution and expense report – that he’s running for mayor. But while the ink is still wet on that paperwork, Reese is already using his platform to peddle feel-good talking points about “compromise,” “collaboration,” and “problem solving” in a Reno Gazette Journal op-ed on data centers.

Nevada’s state systems were down for a week. Data has been exfiltrated in a “sophisticated, ransomware-based attack.” And we thought it was a legitimate question to ask if Washoe County’s $240,000-a-year Chief Information Officer, Behzad Zamanian was in Reno when he wrote the Monday memo.

According to the Reno Gazette Journal, Zamanian works less than five days a month in Reno—spending the rest of his time in Southern California. So when Monday’s update went out detailing the crisis, it was fair to ask: Was Zamanian in Reno or phoning it in from a beachside café. Or we thought so, guess a county employee disagreed.

It’s Day 5 of Nevada’s state systems being down, and the picture just got darker. Cybersecurity officials now admit data has been exfiltrated—yes, moved outside Nevada’s network—during what they call a “sophisticated, ransomware-based attack.”

To everyone in the Save Lakeridge movement: time to take a hard look at who’s backing whom in Washoe County politics.

Turns out T.J. Duncan—the developer at the center of your fight to protect Lakeridge Golf Course—is a supporter of none other than District Attorney Chris Hicks, who is kicking off his re-election campaign on September 9, 2025.

Has Washoe County Commissioner Clara Andriola ever had an original thought, or does she just polish up other people’s ideas and call them monumental achievements?

Her latest triumph? A pet memorial unveiled at the Link Piazzo Dog Park—touted as a heartfelt tribute to a late friend, a former Reno Gazette Journal writer who covered the rodeo for years. Lovely sentiment, but here’s the kicker: the memorial grid, where people can leave their pets’ collars and name tags, looks eerily similar to the 2019 “Locked In Love” art piece—created to honor families who have lost loved ones to substance abuse.

Finding out what the Nevada Police Union pays their vendors is like hunting for Jimmy Hoffa’s burial site, Genghis Khan’s tomb, and the Vatican’s secret archives—all at once. But thanks to a stealth reader with an eye for details, the mystery just cracked open.

Buried in an IRS filing on ProPublica, we find that the Nevada Police Union shelled out a cool $159,106 to Reese Ring Velto, PLLC—the firm representing them on “job-related matters.”

In 2019, after County Manager John Slaughter stepped down, Washoe County launched a taxpayer-funded “national recruitment campaign” to find his replacement. Out of all the applications—and at no small expense—the final candidates boiled down to just three: Eric Brown, Kate Thomas, and Jon Hager.

On September 10th, the Reno City Council will hold the first reading of its ordinance on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)—the supposed superhero solution to affordable housing. A second reading will follow two weeks later.

But here’s the plot twist: without one critical safeguard—banning short-term rentals—Reno’s neighborhoods could become the next playground for an army of real estate villains.

A chilling comment made its way through Washoe County’s 311 system—a platform designed for service requests, not hate-filled threats. The message didn’t just criticize policy. It openly threatened the lives of county commissioners and anyone riding a motorcycle in Northern Nevada:

“Shame on you and you stupid white mfs I hope you guys get voted out… If I see one of those bikers I’m stepping on the gas and letting that scum fly over my car.”

This is not political speech. It is a promise of violence. And yet—where is District Attorney Chris Hicks?

The Reno Gazette-Journal’s Mark Robison recently posted a piece by political analyst Louis Jacobson of the Crystal Ball suggesting Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan should drop his bid for Washoe County District Attorney and instead run for Nevada Attorney General. Interesting timing—and even more interesting implications.

Current DA Chris Hicks is facing what could be the toughest challenge of his career. Duncan, with a campaign war chest reportedly over $500,000, is a serious contender. Hicks, meanwhile, is stumbling through missteps, from the growing dysfunction inside his office to questionable charging decisions and opaque settlements.

At this week’s Washoe County Commission meeting, Commissioner Mariluz Garcia gave a heart wrenching account of Sun Valley’s grocery store closing, calling it a crisis of “food deserts” and “food insecurity.” She put the number at 20,000 residents impacted. Cue Chair Alexis Hill, who immediately suggested putting together “a coalition” to discuss it.

If that sounds familiar, it should. Just last legislative session, a bill was floated in Carson City to create government-run grocery stores. Only one Washoe legislator signed on: Angie Taylor. That bill never made it out, but the talking points seem to live on.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) has announced the launch of a comprehensive community survey designed to better understand the needs, concerns, and experiences of residents across the county. Developed in partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno, this initiative in attempting to represent a step toward strengthening community-police relationships and improving public safety services.

Oh, the optics. The City of Sparks is struggling to keep its financial head above water (and will be for the next five to seven years) —early retirements, frozen positions, belt-tightening everywhere—and yet here comes the big new idea: let’s build ourselves a brand-new City Hall at the Sparks Marina.

The justification? According to the City of Sparks their current city hall suffers from chronic maintenance problems, inadequate security, and overburdened, obsolete office and meeting spaces. Has anyone herd about this over the last few years - you know a statement, comment, article, etc.

Only in Reno could a story start with a senior citizen, a city councilmember, and a wine bar, then spin its way into a suntan lotion called Spooge headed for Burning Man.

Yes, that Spooge. The Mayor’s side hustle with Dr. Whitney Hovnick. The same Spooge that somehow found its way onto the lips—literally and figuratively—of Reno’s so-called elite, all gathered around a wine bar table. Among the attendees? The Mayor herself, her Spooge partner, EDAWN’s head honcho Taylor Adams and his wife Phoenix, the publishers of Edible Reno-Tahoe (that free magazine you grab at coffee shops), and of course, the councilman’s husband.

On August 20th, the Nevada Commission on Ethics will hold a meeting to “discuss maintaining the public’s trust.” That’s adorable. Maybe they can start by actually acting on ethics complaints before they collect dust thick enough to qualify as historic artifacts.

Take the ongoing cases against Reno City Councilmember Devon Reese. Months and months of nothing — like the Commission’s motto is “Delay until politically safe.” Sound familiar? It should. They pulled the same stunt in 2024, conveniently waiting until after the election to drop findings on another Reese complaint.