Apparently, if you want excitement at your next event in Reno, the formula is simple: make a campaign contribution and suddenly an elected official is thrilled to attend.

Now before anyone gets the wrong idea, this isn’t a knock on the Bonanza Casino. Far from it. The casino’s owners, Russ Sheltra and Margo Sheltra, have been part of the Reno community for decades. They’ve supported countless nonprofits, treated their employees well, and have long been known for looking out for Reno’s senior population. Their reputation as community stewards is well earned. Russ and Margo deserve a round of applause.

If anything, the Shelta's simply had the unfortunate timing of landing in the middle of campaign season.

Enter Devon R

Let’s rewind.

The Washoe County Republican Central Committee once passed a resolution refusing to support then–Sparks Councilmember Kristopher Dahir. They wouldn’t endorse him. Wouldn’t allow party materials at headquarters. Wouldn’t let him participate in events.

It didn’t remove him from office.
It didn’t change his voter registration.
It didn’t affect a single council vote.

What it did do was spotlight internal party warfare which continues …

Fast forward to today.

Today’s Reno City Council meeting should be lively. Vice Mayor Miguel Martinez and Reno’s mayor-in-waiting (at least in his own campaign emails) Devon Reese will be perched on the dais, no doubt refreshed after Reese’s fabulous fundraiser at the Grand Sierra Resort — you know, the same Grand Sierra that benefited from all that generous Tax Increment Financing (TIF) support Reese voted to approve. Pure coincidence, we’re sure.

Meanwhile, local Republicans were busy firing off memes about an alleged DUI involving Sparks Councilmember Joe Rodriguez over the weekend.

But here’s the multi-million-dollar question no one seems to be asking:

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.

A public record recently shared with us includes correspondence from Reno City Councilmember Devon Reese discussing mental health in a public, but strangely private email exchange with someone he clearly knows personally.

Because the message references a personal matter, we are choosing — intentionally — not to publish the full email at this time.

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.

Picon is scratching its collective head over next week’s Reno City Council vote on increasing Waste Management’s franchise fee. Let’s be honest — at this stage most observers consider the fee increase a foregone conclusion. The logistics alone of transitioning an entire city’s waste system to a new provider would be a bureaucratic marathon, not a sprint. New trucks, new routes, new labor agreements, new infrastructure — it’s not something you flip like a light switch. Which is exactly why the timing of recent campaign contributions raises eyebrows.

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.

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 who watched the Reno City Council Meeting - we did.

And our take away …

Councilmember Kathleen Taylor finally snapped about downtown Reno — and honestly, it was the most enthusiasm we’ve seen on the council dais since someone mentioned their free catered lunch arrived.

Sorry we didn’t plan on another snarky story about Reno Mayoral candidates, but this is just too good to pass up. We couldn’t believe our eyes.

Some people spend Thanksgiving watching football. Others watch parades.
But here at Picon, we apparently watch Die Hard and then immediately think of local politics—because honestly, the similarities are uncanny.

Shaun Mullin, ladies and gentlemen, is officially the fly in Devon Reese’s ointment. The Hans Gruber to Devon’s corporate-holiday-party meltdown. The man shows up in a comment thread and suddenly our mayoral hopeful—who collects ethics complaints like tourists collect tiki mugs—cannot help himself. He has to respond. Every. Single. Time.

Mike’s Reno Report nailed it: Kate Marshall posting a New York Times article about Iowa City’s fare-free bus program isn’t policy — it’s aesthetic politics, the political equivalent of putting a plant in the background of your Zoom call to appear grounded and responsible.

A repost is cheap. Leadership isn’t.

Washoe District Judge Kathleen Sigurdson will remain on the Michael Leonard lawsuit involving Devon Reese, Alex Velto, and Conor McQuivey. A motion had challenged her impartiality, but Judge Barry Breslow ruled there was no evidence of bias sufficient to warrant removing her from the case. He noted, however, that the “significant concerns” raised by the motion can still be addressed later on appeal, should the case reach that point.

We couldn’t help but notice those matching shirts the Reno City Council members wore at the Veterans Day Parade — very coordinated, very official-looking. Cool City of Reno swag.

Here’s our question: did taxpayers pick up the tab for those?

We couldn’t help but smile today when a few speakers during public comment — including some UNR students and a Midtown representative — took to the mic to thank Councilmembers Miguel Martinez, Brandi Anderson, and Devon Reese for their “generous donations” to their organizations.

It’s that time again — Reno City Hall’s annual game of “Who Wants to Be Vice Mayor?” The suspense is thick enough to cut with a council agenda. The November 12th meeting promises interesting ‘deals’ that may have been crafted behind the scenes.

Rumors are flying around town faster than free-range pigs at a county fair. Everyone’s got a theory about who’ll get the title. City Hall watchers are already placing bets on who might emerge as the mayor’s next right-hand. The logic seems simple: who will get the most bang for the buck and that might very well be Mayor Schieve’s ‘bestie’ Councilmember Devon Reese. Heck, she just threw a fundraiser for him at The Elm Estate.

We learned a new legal term: vexatious litigant. According to the courts, it’s someone who files lawsuits to harass or burden others rather than seek justice. Interesting, right?

That phrase came to mind when we received a campaign fundraising email from Reno City Councilmember and 2026 mayoral hopeful Devon Reese — curiously timed just as multiple media outlets are reporting on the civil case tying together Michael Leonard (the plaintiff) and several local notables: Alex Velto (2024 Assembly candidate, Reno Planning Commissioner, and attorney), Conor McQuivey (Renoites podcast host and Washoe County employee), and of course Reese himself, Velto’s law partner.

You’ve got to hand it to the City of Reno — no one torpedoes property values faster.

Take 410 Reno Avenue, for example. The homeowner attended the so-called “neighborhood meeting” on July 30, hosted by the Reno Housing Authority. It was there he learned he’d soon be living next to a three-story, 45-unit “affordable housing” project. (Translation: kiss your quiet single-story street goodbye.)

After Reese’s Academy Award performance on Nevada Newsmakers the other day … you know the tee-up to please come to my fundraiser because i’m a ‘man of the people’ and not a ‘vexatious litigant” kind of guy.

Reno City Councilmember Devon Reese’s high-dollar fundraiser tonight at The Elm Estate — because nothing says “man of the people” quite like one of Reno’s priciest venues.

Today, Picon witnessed what could only be described as a televised bromance between Nevada Newsmakers’ own Sam Shad and Reno City Councilmember Devon Reese — and let’s just say, if there was a candlelit dinner involved, we wouldn’t be surprised.

From the opening minute, it was clear this wasn’t an interview — it was an infomercial for Reese 2026. Shad practically rolled out a red carpet, fluffed Reese’s political pillow, and offered him a free campaign ad disguised as journalism.