Mayor Hillary Schieve loves to lecture Reno residents about privacy. Question her, disagree with her, or — heaven forbid — wonder about her motives, and suddenly you’re guilty of “doxing,” accused of exposing the poor mayor’s delicate personal details.

But pour her a glass of wine at a Belleville Wine Bar, and suddenly the mayor transforms into Reno’s answer to the paparazzi. Forget city budgets and potholes — Hillary’s new hobby is flash photography.

Only in Reno do you cancel a hybrid meeting—yes, hybrid—25 minutes before it’s set to start because of “no quorum.” Think about that. Residents showed up in person, people were ready online, and yet somehow the City of Reno couldn’t round up enough board members to click a Zoom link or dial in by phone?

Ward 5 residents dutifully schlepped downtown, navigated parking headaches, and wove through City Hall’s sidewalk homeless scene just to be greeted by a notice of cancellation. The message? Your time is disposable.

Republicans in Washoe County have a problem they can’t just wave away with a slate card: two of their own are charging into the 2026 Reno mayor’s race.

On one side, you’ve got Reno Councilmember Kathleen Taylor — the same Taylor who just last year leaned heavily on Republican circles to squeak out her city council victory. Chair Bruce Parks and the Washoe County GOP rolled out the welcome mat for Taylor, putting her front and center at Republican events, think Parties in the Park. Some argue that support was the difference in her slim-margin win.

Oh, the great fire study fix …

Did anyone actually take the time to watch the Regional Fire Services Study Board make its debut on September 4 at 10 a.m.? Probably not. But for those who did, it was a show worth critiquing.

The board is stacked with two reps each from the City of Sparks, City of Reno, and Washoe County. Logical enough. But what’s not logical is who didn’t make the cut: Commissioners Mike Clark and Jeanne Herman — the only two commissioners with firsthand wildfire scars in their districts. Instead, we got Clara Andriola and Mariluz Garcia. Why? Don’t ask — just “call it good to go.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Ward 2 residents are once again being asked to swallow a vague development proposal—this time called the Mount Rose Junction Specific Plan District (LDC25-00018).

The site sits on the west side of Plumas Street, about 145 feet south of Mount Rose Street. The developer’s wish list is ambitious:

Duncan Golf Management is selling the idea of a shiny new “golf resort” at Lakeridge. On paper, it sounds like something out of a lifestyle magazine—pickleball and tennis courts, a swimming pool, dining, a spa, a non-gaming hotel, and meeting spaces. But here’s the kicker: they won’t give residents any numbers.

How many guests would a 100-room hotel bring in daily? How many cars? How much noise? What kind of water demand are we talking about for pools, courts, and lush resort landscaping? What developer, anywhere, floats this kind of sweeping project without running the numbers—or at least sharing them?

If Reno politics had a royal court, case CV25-01334 would be the scandal of the season. Picture it: a wine bar, an elderly gentleman, and a Reno City Councilmember with 2026 mayoral dreams—except the evening allegedly turned from small talk to small brawl, and now we’re all waiting for the tapes.

The wine bar’s two strategically placed cameras are the crown jewels in this drama. When the footage is uncorked. The video should finally reveal this story.

Is it appropriate for media to laugh themselves silly at a Reno City Councilmember’s social media post? We don’t know. But we did.

After nine long months of blissful indifference, Ward 5’s very own Devon Reese has suddenly fallen head over heels for his Neighborhood Advisory Board. The same board he barely mentioned since being reelected in November 2024 is now the talk of his Facebook feed. He’s appointing members, hunting for alternates, and celebrating that they “hit the ground running” with discussions of two Ward 5 projects.

So why the sudden civic passion? Could it be… he’s running for mayor? Oh, absolutely.

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.

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.

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?”

If you’ve spent five minutes on Nextdoor lately, you’ve likely seen the name Shaun Mullin—keyboard warrior, neighborhood watchdog, and unofficial spokesperson for everyone sick of seeing Reno carved up like a real estate buffet.

This week’s target? The Hello World project—an ironically named development that’s about to say goodbye to sanity in Ward 1. The proposal? 50 units and just 32 parking spaces, conveniently crammed onto Reno Avenue. Because apparently, the new urban planning motto is: If they don’t have a place to park, maybe they’ll just disappear.

July 15, 2025 will go down in history—not for anything civic, legislative, or remotely government-related—but because SPOOGE officially launched its line of ultra-premium, sparkle-infused skincare products, including one we didn’t know we needed: glossy sunscreen for your butt cheeks.

Yes, you read that correctly.

And leading the glittery charge is none other than the Mayor of Reno herself—who, is also one of SPOOGE’s co-founders.