The City of Sparks has quietly settled the case of firefighter Timothy Egan, accused of assaulting 84-year-old Maureen Hvegholm over the crime of feeding stray cats. The 2022 incident drew statewide outrage—but here we are in 2025, and Egan is still drawing a taxpayer-funded paycheck.

So let’s ask the only question that matters: why is this man still employed? What else is being swept under the rug to keep him in uniform? And why is Mayor Ed Lawson comfortable with a firefighter who left an elderly woman bruised and shaken still representing his city? Seniors in Sparks clearly aren’t a priority for Lawson—unless, of course, he needs their votes in his next election.

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.