There’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
There’s The Little Engine That Could.

And now, Reno gets its own work of fiction:
Eddie and the 4th of July Parade.

Because let’s be honest—this isn’t about patriotism, community, or even the Fourth of July. This is about one thing: getting Eddie Lorton’s name in the headlines. He wants voters to think he’s a parotic guy to get some extra votes. Cuz no one wants to lose for a fifth time.

And shame on any media outlet willing to play along—yes, including the Reno Gazette Journal.

If you’re looking for a little excitement tonight, look no further.

There’s a fundraiser for Devon Reese, reportedly backed by a room full of attorneys — and really, what could be more fun than that combination?

But while the wine is flowing and the speeches are polished, the real action might be happening somewhere else entirely.

According to a report by the Reno Gazette Journal, Reno mayoral candidate Eddie Lorton has obtained a temporary restraining order against Michael Leonard of Mike’s Reno Report — the same individual who, until recently, had been helping Lorton with campaign-related communications.

The RGJ article notes that the request for the TRO references a “Breaking Bad” meme allegedly sent by Leonard. Yes, a meme.

Calling a statement like “accountability matters” an oxymoron depends less on the phrase itself and more on the speaker’s perceived credibility.

The words “accountability” and “matters” are not opposites, so linguistically it is not an oxymoron. An oxymoron is something like “deafening silence” or “jumbo shrimp,” where the terms directly contradict each other.

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.

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.

After reading Mike’s Reno Report, and it is worth the read, we couldn’t help ourselves and simply had to query.

The Washoe County Republican Party might want to invest in a spreadsheet — or at least a group chat — because the 2026 ballot is shaping up to be one giant, red-tinted identity crisis.

First, there’s the Reno mayor’s race. Two elephants, one chair: Councilmember Kathleen Taylor, who rode GOP backing to a razor-thin win in 2024, and perennial candidate Eddie Lorton, the party’s forever date who’s back for another dance.

Hold on tight, Reno. City Councilman Devon Reese is suddenly in the business of apologies — and we’re supposed to buy it. He offered up a half-hearted “sorry” over the Lear Theatre flap, but let’s be real: this isn’t remorse, it’s rehearsal. Reese isn’t apologizing to fix his behavior — he’s auditioning for the role of Nice Guy Mayor 2026.

Well, it looks like the Nevada Commission on Ethics has folded again — or to put it less politely, chicken-shitted out.

In A River Runs Through It, the line “I am haunted by waters” speaks to beauty, memory, and loss. Under Devon Reese’s mayoral campaign, the Truckee River has taken on a far less poetic role: haunted not by nostalgia, but by neglect.

Reese, who now poses as the river’s great protector, has presided over years in which the Truckee became the city’s restroom of last resort. Residents don’t need campaign slogans — they need to be able to walk by the river without dodging human waste. Yet here’s Reese, standing riverside for campaign photos, hoping the public forgets what really flows downstream.

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.

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.