In a move that perfectly encapsulates why citizens grow distrustful of local government, Washoe County officials have apparently found a creative way to avoid addressing serious safety concerns at the courthouse - by drowning them in bureaucratic procedure.

Chief Judge Lynne Simons recently took the step of formally request reports from county officials about elevated radon levels detected in the courthouse - a building where hundreds of employees work daily and thousands of citizens fulfill their civic duties each year. Her letter, written in her official capacity as the top judicial officer in the district, outlined concerns that would reasonably demand immediate attention from any responsible property manager, let alone a government entity charged with public safety.

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.

Is Washoe County playing a shell game with building priorities? Commissioner Mike Clark's persistent quest for radon test results at the Washoe County Courthouse raises some interesting questions about project sequencing.

Clark has reportedly been trying for months to obtain radon testing data from 2017/2018, along with results from tests supposedly conducted in February 2025. His struggle to access this basic public safety information is curious, to say the least.

Picon has been investigating courthouse cleaning for the past six months. We had several people reach out to us who work at the Washoe County District Courthouses, 75 S. Sierra and 201 S. Virginia Street informing us the third-party vendor for cleaning services the county has retained just wasn’t cleaning the courthouses.