A contentious online exchange highlights the urgent need for third-party verification of county homelessness claims.

A heated social media exchange between two local figures has crystallized a critical question that Washoe County officials have been avoiding for years: Why won't they allow an independent audit of their homelessness programs and spending?

As cowboys, rodeo fans, and tourists poured into Reno for the annual Reno Rodeo, some local seniors at the 9th Street Senior Center were witnessing a different kind of roundup — one that has nothing to do with bucking broncos or barrel racing.

According to several residents who frequent the center, during the rodeo brought an unusual level of law enforcement activity to their street. Seniors say sheriff’s deputies and county employees were patrolling the area immediately outside the county fence that encloses the senior center and adjacent county facilities — an area long known to be an unofficial campsite for people experiencing homelessness.

In a perfect example of government logic, Washoe County has decided to replace RISE - Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality, as the operator of Our Place—the facility serving homeless women and children—despite RISE doing a competent job since the facility opened.

Why the change? That's where things get interesting.

Our Town Reno reported on this death at the Nevada CARES Campus yesterday. Commissioner Mike Clark sent the FYI announcement to the press. Why are we now reporting on this? Because the tenor of the email just really pissed us off, this is a human life.

The Washoe County manager and assistant county manager's response to a death at the Nevada CARES Campus appears to demonstrate a deeply troubling lack of human empathy. Reducing a human being's death to a mere "FYI" (For Your Information) memo reveals a disturbing bureaucratic detachment from the fundamental value of human life.

Washoe County has effectively silenced homeless residents at the Nevada CARES Campus by minimizing Community Homelessness Advisory Board (CHAB) meetings since September 2023. This started after Teresa Bacon, a resident, publicly criticized the County and Commissioner Alexis Hill about conditions at the campus. Rather than address Bacon's concerns, the County launched a counter-campaign against her.

As Eric Brown's annual review is tomorrow, Washoe County has conveniently "revised" its evaluation criteria – presumably to mask another year of mismanagement behind a façade of independence. The only thing more remarkable than Brown's list of failures is the chorus of commissioners rushing to applaud them.

Piron has been digging into the Commissioner Alexis Hill vs Marsha Berkbigler Community Forum sponsored by Senior Spectrum Magazine a few weeks ago.

Berkbigler has an uphill battle due to the contributions Hill has been able to raise. How did Hill get all that loot? That’s the million dollar question.

Okay, Picon will admit to sometimes being frustrated by Jenny Brekhus over these many years when she has taken us down the path of doing what is right for the City of Reno residents.

Is it frustrating listing to Councilmember Brekhus trying to hold us all to a higher standard, yes.

Is it exhausting, and sometimes you want to side with her foes, one wants to shout, “Jenny, can you just let it go.”  

Brekhus has been a champion of the residents of Reno since the day she was elected. No one can dispute that.

Marie Baxter, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada was on KOLOTV with Rebecca Kitchen, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, talking about their need for volunteers to serve food at the Nevada Cares Campus to the homeless.

We have written a lot about the Nevada Cares Campus and realized at one point it would take a number of people coming forward to hopefully get true investigations started.