Enough Is Enough: Time for Washoe County to Come Clean on Safe Camp Management

Our Town Reno blasted the arrest of Karma Box Projects Safe Camp Supervisor out to the public.

Yesterday we published a story hoping someone with a bigger reach might amplify it — and bless their souls, Our Town Reno picked it up. They have a megaphone compared to Picon’s whistle, and for that we’re grateful. We’re happy being the “little engine that could,” the outlet everyone swears they don’t read… yet somehow always seem to react to. That’s our comfort zone.

But today we’re stepping out of that zone.

Because what’s happening at the Safe Camp — and how residents are reacting to it — can no longer be brushed aside with a smile, a ribbon, and a county press release from what we lovingly call the Propaganda Princesses at Washoe County.

Our Town Reno’s Facebook post sparked a flood of comments from real residents who are fed up. We usually redact names so Councilmember Devon Reese can’t screech that we’re “doxing,” but not this time. These folks commented publicly, willingly, and courageously. Their words deserve daylight.

Some of the comments in response to Our Town Reno’s Facebook post on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.

And now we turn to a public official who does answer the phone: Commissioner Mike Clark. Yesterday he told us he had already contacted County Manager Kate Thomas to get the facts about the incident in question. As of 5 p.m. last night — nothing. Not a word. Not an explanation. Not even a placeholder response.

That silence is unacceptable.
That silence is accountability avoided.
That silence is exactly why this county keeps spiraling into crisis.

Washoe County can no longer pretend everything is fine. Stop pretending the only organization on Earth capable of running it is the Karma Box Project.

What needs to happen right now:

1. Washoe County must admit it has a serious management problem.
Not spin it. Not hide it. Not rebrand it. Acknowledge it.

2. The County must issue an independent, competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Safe Camp. Stop acting like Karma Box is the only option. It isn’t. Never was. An open RFP is how accountable government works.

3. Commissioner Mike Clark must demand answers — publicly — and so should every resident.
No more closed-door excuses. No more silence. No more hiding behind staff.

4. The community must show up and speak up at the CHAB meeting on December 2, 2025.
Not for theater. Not for show. For change.

Washoe County belongs to the people who live here, not to a handful of officials who believe silence is a strategy and spin is a solution.

We’re done watching this mess get gift-wrapped and sold as progress.

Time to demand better.
Time to demand honesty.
Time to demand accountability — loudly.