Why does Michael Leonard and Mike’s Reno Report matter? Simple: people actually read it — and they act on it.

In less than a year, Leonard has built a growing, loyal audience — especially among Republicans — and that influence is very real.

Just ask Eddie Lorton.

Leonard was once in Lorton’s corner, even helping him behind the scenes. That didn’t last. Turns out, working with Lorton is one thing — dealing with the fallout is another.

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day—and after a court hearing, that might be especially true.

Because if you ask Picon, the real story always happens before… or after… the main event.

And yesterday proved it.

After the Lorton vs. Leonard hearing in Washoe County Justice Court, presided over by, we can’t believe it either, Judge Pierre Hascheff, both sides apparently needed to decompress.

We have had a bunch of readers asking us to post this application. Here you go.

We absolutely love the optics here…

Last night when the Republican Central Committee lined up behind Eddie Lorton, standing right next to him was his buddy, his pal, his mentor — Robert Beadles.

Yes, that Robert Beadles.

The same guy who has now confirmed he hired a private investigator tied to tracking Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve’s vehicle back in 2022.

Every time a meeting gets delayed, our inbox lights up.

“What aren’t they telling us?”
“Who pulled the strings?”
“What’s the hidden agenda?”

And right on cue, here we are again.

The Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Commission was supposed to hear the Duncan Golf Management / Save Lakeridge matter today. Instead, the meeting was pushed. And just like that, fingers started pointing—mostly at the commission itself.

That familiar rat-a-tat-tat has returned to the Reno City Council meetings.

Once again, Eddie Lorton has been showing up during public comment demanding that a Fourth of July parade be placed on a future council agenda.

Now Lorton says he’ll personally cover the $25,000 cost to make it happen.

Isn’t the judiciary supposed to be impartial?

That’s the standard the public is told to expect: judges stay above the political fray, particularly during election season. At the very least, they’re expected to avoid the appearance of political favoritism or entanglements that could raise questions about their neutrality.

Which brings us to Dixie Grossman, the chief judge of the Family Court division within the Second Judicial District Court.

Credit where it’s due: Jackie Bryant showed a measure of appropriate gravity during yesterday’s press conference in Reno regarding the suspension of Chief Nance. Bryant appeared visibly affected—almost a little verklempt—which conveyed that the situation was serious and unsettling for the city’s leadership.

By contrast, Hillary Schieve came across very differently. Rather than projecting the same sense of gravity, her presentation felt more like another stop on a promotional press tour—something closer to selling her Spooge sunscreen line than addressing a moment of institutional concern. Whether intentional or not, that contrast underscores a basic rule in public life: optics matter.

Public comment at Reno meetings comes with a familiar rhythm: step up, state your name, watch the clock, and wrap it up before the buzzer.

Three minutes.
No back-and-forth.
No “asks.”
No extended dialogue.

Citizens are reminded regularly that public comment is for input — not interrogation.

So it was hard not to notice what unfolded at the March 2, 2026 meeting of the Reno Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board.

Credit where it’s due.

Kudos to Nico and the team at Our Town Reno for staying on the Reno-Tahoe Airport trustee residency story and refusing to let it fade into the next news cycle. Accountability reporting isn’t glamorous. It requires documents, timelines, follow-ups, and the willingness to ask the same question until someone finally answers it.

And in this case, the persistence mattered.

Apparently, we’re getting illuminated.

In San Francisco, the iconic San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge was lit up with an $11 million art installation — funded entirely by private donations from more than 1,300 contributors. Not public money. Not fee increases. Not “we’ll bill you later.”

Private. Donations.

Picon has said it before — nothing says “party unity” like Republicans fighting Republicans.

For years, the local GOP has operated like an exclusive club. Loyalty isn’t encouraged; it’s enforced. Support the approved candidate or risk being shown the door. That’s been the pattern.

Enter the curious disappearance of Diana Hoffman.

If timing is everything, then today’s Sparks City Council meeting may feel like the Sparks city manager’s worst nightmare.

Because hanging over the dais is not just an agenda — it’s a question no one seems eager to ask out loud.

On Friday night, Sparks City Councilmember Joe Rodriguez was reportedly at the Reno Events Center attending the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour. Also in attendance? Reno mayoral candidate and councilmember Devon Reese and Reno Vice Mayor Miguel Martinez.

Pendleton Whisky. Velocity Tour. Whiskey.

After reading Mike’s Reno Report today, it’s clear he laid out Bruce Parks’ worldview of Republicans and Republican politics far more eloquently than Picon ever could.

And as Mike correctly pointed out, the problem isn’t that Parks lacks passion or spirit—it’s that he doesn’t do the homework.

After reading Mike’s Reno Report this morning, we thought we’d add a few observations from Monday night’s Washoe County Republican Central Committee meeting (January 27, 2026). You know—the one chaired by Bruce Parks, who has a habit of politically excommunicating Republicans who don’t fall in line, well his line.

Maybe that helps explain why Washoe County has over 103,000 registered Republicans, yet the Central Committee can only muster about 165 people as members, and that says a whole lot.

A recently listed Reno home at 1620 Harold Drive is raising eyebrows over what appears to be a dramatic four-month flip, advertised renovations, and unanswered questions about permits, zoning, and disclosure requirements.

The property, APN 002-261-07, was purchased on August 20, 2025, for $267,000, according to Washoe County document #5563119. The buyer was Shasta Properties LLC, a Nevada entity (E0499092017-3). The listed resident agent for Shasta Properties is Brandon Goles, who is also the listing agent for the property’s current sale.

Tonight’s City of Reno Ward 3 Neighborhood Advisory meeting includes a big agenda item: the proposed closing or repurposing of several Washoe County schools located in Ward 3.

One of the presenters? Washoe County School Board Trustee Beth Smith.

Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve spent the holiday season in New York City—was it part vacation, part brand promotion—repping her sunscreen business alongside her business partner—heck we don’t know but we enjoy the images . Big-city backdrop, big inflatable Spooge marketing props, and plenty of photo ops.

Whether that’s the image Reno voters want from their mayor is a fair question. Public office comes with public scrutiny, especially when personal business and public profile blur together.

So let’s clear this up.

I’m being told the Republicans aren’t supporting me because I print articles calling them out.

Correction: the real Republicans are. The ones who open their homes, host fundraisers, knock on doors, make calls, and grind through campaign season without a title or a Facebook following. They’re with me.

When silence isn’t an option: Devon Reese accidentally confirms he reads Mike’s Reno Report. Or he sure did about the loss of Harrah’s xx and downtown Boise.

It turns out Councilmember Devon Reese does read Mike’s Reno Report — or at least reads it closely enough to feel compelled to respond. Not with answers, mind you. Just vibes, deflection, and a carefully worded non-response that somehow managed to say everything while explaining nothing.