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.

Credit where it’s due: Jackie Bryant showed a measure of appropriate gravity during yesterday’s press conference in Reno regarding the suspension of Chief Nance. Bryant appeared visibly affected—almost a little verklempt—which conveyed that the situation was serious and unsettling for the city’s leadership.

By contrast, Hillary Schieve came across very differently. Rather than projecting the same sense of gravity, her presentation felt more like another stop on a promotional press tour—something closer to selling her Spooge sunscreen line than addressing a moment of institutional concern. Whether intentional or not, that contrast underscores a basic rule in public life: optics matter.

After we published video of the March 2 meeting of the Reno Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board — where Hillary Schieve appeared during public comment — one of our readers actually did what we always hope people will do:

They watched it.

And then they asked a question.

The question concerned Paul Klein, who serves on the Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board. The reader asked whether Klein is affiliated with Tri-Strategies and whether there is any professional overlap with Eddie Ableser, the former airport authority board member who recently resigned, you know, yesterday. Oh, and a favorite of Mayor Hillary Schieve.

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

Picon has said it before — nothing says “party unity” like Republicans fighting Republicans.

For years, the local GOP has operated like an exclusive club. Loyalty isn’t encouraged; it’s enforced. Support the approved candidate or risk being shown the door. That’s been the pattern.

Enter the curious disappearance of Diana Hoffman.

Well, there she was.

Councilmember Kathleen Taylor at the microphone last night at the Republican Central Committee meeting at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

We’re just trying to keep up.

Isn’t Bruce Parks the same party leader who demands absolute loyalty from Republicans? The one who’s made it clear that crossing the aisle is grounds for excommunication? Ask Ed Lawson, Clara Andriola, Kristopher Dahir, or Colleen Westlake how that worked out.

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.

When silence isn’t an option: Devon Reese accidentally confirms he reads Mike’s Reno Report. Or he sure did about the loss of Harrah’s xx and downtown Boise.

It turns out Councilmember Devon Reese does read Mike’s Reno Report — or at least reads it closely enough to feel compelled to respond. Not with answers, mind you. Just vibes, deflection, and a carefully worded non-response that somehow managed to say everything while explaining nothing.

Apparently, December 14, 2025 is now campaign season in Reno — at least according to four-time mayoral candidate Eddie Lorton, whose campaign signs began popping up months before candidates are even allowed to file for office.

We so enjoy trolling social media posts and frankly can’t believe what elected officials put up online. Our favorites are Reno Councilmember Devon Reese and Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson, but Washoe County Commissioner Mike Clark is moving up.

We saw Commissioner Mike Clark’s post celebrating that Eddie Lorton ignored him and Larry Chesney (Picon’s Publisher and candidate for Washoe County Commission District 5) at Carole Fineberg’s goodbye luncheon.

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

Holiday weekends are supposed to be quiet… but Reno never met a long weekend it couldn’t fill with intrigue, eyebrow-raising posts, and a few stories that practically write themselves. And because Picon hears from everyone — the kind, the cranky, the concerned, and the borderline-threatening — we figured we’d share a few morsels to go with your football watching.

First Up - Mayor Schieve, Belleville, and Spooge.

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.

It’s that time again when Reno politics starts to feel less like City Hall and more like a soap opera filmed in a haunted mansion. This week’s episode stars Mayor Hillary Schieve, her new venture Spooge (yes, that’s really the name), and a political friendship circle that’s starting to look like a Ouija board of broken alliances.

If you’re not following Shaun Mullin on social media—especially Nextdoor—you’re missing out on some of the sharpest satire Reno has seen since… well, since Reno thought the Lear Theater was a good idea. Mullin has made an art form out of skewering the Reno City Council, a collection of politicians so thin-skinned they’d probably break out in hives if someone drew them a stick figure cartoon.

Is it appropriate for media to laugh themselves silly at a Reno City Councilmember’s social media post? We don’t know. But we did.

After nine long months of blissful indifference, Ward 5’s very own Devon Reese has suddenly fallen head over heels for his Neighborhood Advisory Board. The same board he barely mentioned since being reelected in November 2024 is now the talk of his Facebook feed. He’s appointing members, hunting for alternates, and celebrating that they “hit the ground running” with discussions of two Ward 5 projects.

So why the sudden civic passion? Could it be… he’s running for mayor? Oh, absolutely.

Reno City Councilmember Kathleen Taylor—fresh off her 2024 council win backed by local Republicans—has now launched an "exploratory campaign" to consider a run for mayor. Translation? She’s running, she just wants to see who’s gullible enough to hop on the bandwagon again.

Let’s rewind: Taylor courted Republicans and posed with the party base. But now, with her eyes set on the mayor’s office, we’re wondering if the Nevada GOP is about to be the ex who keeps coming back for more.

When Campaign Cash Comes with Handcuffs: Should Kromer's Political Donations Be Returned?

The arrest of Stephen Kromer of formerly of Kromer Investments (he resigned from his family’s firm back in February 2025 when these charges started to bubble up) on 31 criminal counts took place May 16, 2025. With $9.1 million in taxpayer money allegedly vanished from a failed rural internet project, the spotlight now turns to those who benefited from Kromer's political generosity before his fall from grace.