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.”

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.

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.

An invite dropped in our inbox: District Attorney Chris Hicks, speaking Monday, August 11th at Mimi’s Cafe. Cue the political theater.

What will he be talking about? His many misfires as DA? The ongoing Izabella Loving homicide proceedings? The Reno High School vandalism protest one could argue his office mishandled. The DA’s refusal to fulfill reasonable public record requests for two years - allowing Washoe County Government to remain insulated from public scrutiny. Or is this just a veiled attempt at “equal time” after Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan announced his DA candidacy at a luncheon hosted by a different branch of the same group in June? Watch the video - Duncan has a wonderful story about President Teddy Roosevelt as his lead-in to announcing.. Very clever Wes.

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.

Well folks, it seems summer is officially here—and the new hot spot in Washoe County is none other than the bike path along the Truckee River. Forget parks, backyards, or permits. A reader recently sent us a video showing homeless folks with a barbecue setup, turning the riverside into Reno’s unofficial open-air smokehouse.

Naturally, this raises a few questions. Chief among them: can the rest of us join in?

Picon is unapologetically amused.

Wes Duncan announces a run for Washoe County District Attorney and—poof!—a select few locals faint into their fainting couches like we're all trapped in some steamy 1860s Southern drama. Someone fetch the smelling salts—there’s a Republican challenger in the DA’s race, and the self-appointed gatekeepers of Washoe County are scandalized, and it seems are fearful of a primary.

Who died and made them the candidate police of the region?

Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan has announced his candidacy for Washoe County District Attorney, setting the stage for a potential showdown with incumbent Chris Hicks. While Duncan's tenure in Sparks has been marked by a commitment to transparency and community engagement, Hicks' record on public access to records has been less than stellar.

Well, he’s definitely not overdressed for the occasion.

A sharp-eyed reader sent us a gem from a recent baseball game: Sparks Councilmember Donald Abbott, shirtless and soaking up the sun with a friend. While the crowd was focused on home runs, Abbott was apparently working on his tan.

There are rumors swirling about mayoral candidates in the City of Sparks. Picon has received a number of messages from our readers pondering if Chris Garvey will do a 2022 repeat run for mayor and asking more about silently announced mayoral candidate Wendi Rawson who owns Engine 8 Urban Winery in Sparks. Some folks are saying former Ward 5 Councilmember Kristopher Dahir will run. But come on Sparks voters, you’re basically stuck with two choices Mayor Ed Lawson, who is quietly raising money for his reelection bid and termed-out Ward 4 Councilmember Charlene Bybee, who seems to not be concerned about all that lovely money Lawson is raising, and is staying coy about her run - but telling constituents, who are contacting us, she is running. Which caused us to think Ed Lawson vs. Charlene Bybee is a study in political redundancy.

When kicking out members becomes easier than building a bench.

Let's be perfectly clear: We've never been members of the Ed Lawson Fan Club. We haven't printed t-shirts, we don't have a secret handshake, and we certainly don't have his poster taped to our bedroom wall. But even a broken clock is right twice a day, and on this particular issue, the time reads "Bruce Parks is dead wrong o'clock."

Is there a growing gap between curiosity-driven reporting and actual accountability journalism?

Why did Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District abandon a $50,000 pre-construction fee for a new fire station in 2021? This perfectly illustrates how modern local news often prioritizes engagement over insight, but while the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District is trying to answer KRNV’s questions they are also avoiding facts.

In the bustling metropolis of Sparks, Nevada, a peculiar political drama unfolds—one that gives new meaning to the phrase "the road less traveled." Mayor Ed Lawson's prized toll road bill, once the crown jewel of his infrastructure vision, now lies in legislative purgatory, thoroughly defeated in the halls of the Nevada Legislature. Yet, like a determined door-to-door salesman who refuses to acknowledge the "No Soliciting" sign, Mayor Lawson continues his crusade for concrete.

As local governments scramble to patch their leaking financial ships—with Washoe County, Sparks, and Reno all millions in the red—they've settled on the usual solution: deeper dives into taxpayer pockets. Increased fees, passed on charges, some say, sales tax hikes are circling the drain, and "fire consolidation assessments" have become the preferred alternative to actual fiscal responsibility - (translation: moving money around so Reno - Sparks - Washoe County can spend fire budgets to run the city/county, because if State Senator Skip Daly, Mayor Ed Lawson, Commissioner Alexis Hill, and Mayor Hillary Schieve have their way, residents will pay an assessment to fund fire services - slick, right).

In a stunning display of political self-sabotage, Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson expressed shock—SHOCK!—that his $500 million toll road bill died in the Nevada Legislature after he publicly insulted most of its members as self-serving public employees and union cronies.

Remember that old saying about history repeating itself? Well, grab your wallets, Nevadans, because AJR1—the sequel nobody asked for—is now playing at a legislature near you.

This blockbuster tax hike (previously known as SJR14 in its 2017 flop) has risen from the political graveyard with a simple plot: extract more property tax dollars from your pockets. Why? Because apparently our local governments have developed expensive tastes they can't seem to kick.

Remember those campaign trail promises? You know, the ones where candidates smiled, shook hands, and studiously avoided mentioning the fiscal elephant lurking in the room? Congratulations, voters - you've just witnessed the most impressive disappearing act since Houdini: the complete evaporation of campaign transparency.

The Pre-election playbook from Sparks Councilmember’s Anderson, Dahir, and Abbott, Reno Sparks Councilmember’s Anderson, Taylor, Martinez, and Reese, and Washoe County Commissioners Hill and Andriola was to stay mute about the financial woes the cities and county were facing in the next fiscal year. Assemblymember Natha Anderson didn’t tell voters she wanted to raise property taxes at all those campaign meet and greets in 2024.

Pandas Over People at the City of Sparks ???

While the City of Sparks drowns in an $18 million deficit, two city councilmembers somehow found it essential to jet off to Washington DC—with a special stop to snap panda selfies at the National Zoo.

That's right. As the city offers early retirement packages, freezes positions, and whispers about upcoming layoffs, Councilmembers Bybee and VanderWell were busy cooing at Bao Li and Qing Bao at the Smithsonian's National Zoo—presumably on the taxpayer dime.

In what can only be described as fiscal gymnastics, Mayor Ed Lawson delivered a somber State of the City address on February 24, 2025, while riding his motorcycle—because nothing says "we're in a budget crisis" quite like a mayoral motorcycle moment. Perhaps the motorcycle was necessary to keep His Honor awake during his own speech, much as it kept us from slipping into a complete video coma.

"We're going through some hard times now," Lawson gravely intoned after the video ended. "We're going to have to have some layoffs in the future. We're just going to have to buckle up."

Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson is trying to shut down public records access with AB 51. Hiding behind the "National League of Cities" like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Don't be fooled—this bill has Lawson's fingerprints all over it.

His brilliant idea? Nobody gets public records without photo ID. Apparently, the mayor needs to know exactly WHO is asking questions. Planning to shame them on social media later, Ed? What ARE you so desperate to hide?