At the last Washoe County District 2 CAB meeting there was a little unexpected theater courtesy of Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District. TMFPD gave a presentation that left residents scratching their heads, raising eyebrows, and possibly checking their wallets.

Because here’s the question no one answered clearly:

Is TMFPD already paying The Porter Group $5,000 a month to “find them funding”… or are they just thinking about paying them $5,000 a month? Or did they give the idea up.

Only in Washoe County could the Republican Party roll into the holiday season with not one, but two Christmas parties — on the same day, with the same invitation template, but wildly different vibes.

On one side of the road, we have Event #1:
A polished, paid soirée at a building on 4th Street owned by — wait for it — a mayoral candidate. There’s valet parking, food, and enough political perfume in the air to make a lobbyist dizzy. This is the kind of party where you check your coat and your conscience at the door.

Some politicians get things done.
Some politicians pretend to get things done.
And then there’s Commissioner Clara Andriola, who manages to take credit for things that were done before she even found the parking lot.

If political boasting were an Olympic sport, she’d have more gold than Michael Phelps.

Andriola has a talent for taking credit for anything and everything that defies physics. There is not an idea that crosses the county line that Andriola cannot, within seconds, position herself in front of—preferably with a photographer nearby.

More than a year has passed since the Community Homelessness Advisory Board (CHAB) last met — the very board tasked with overseeing Washoe County’s most pressing humanitarian crisis. Chaired by Commissioner Alexis Hill, CHAB has gone silent while encampments spread and frustration grows.

At the most recent Washoe County Commission meeting, residents finally said what many have whispered: Why hasn’t Chair Hill called a CHAB meeting in over a year?

Well, grab your popcorn, Washoe County — Picon’s boss himself, Larry Chesney, has officially announced he’s running for County Commissioner, District 5.

Why? Simple. After Tammy Holt-Still announced her candidacy — right there in the middle of a commission meeting, no less — Larry’s phone started blowing up like it was Black Friday at Costco. Over 100 calls from residents, ranchers, landowners, and business owners poured in, all with the same message: “Larry, please run. Save us from the circus.”

Has all that radon at the historic Washoe County Courthouse been quietly swept under the rug—or just vented out a window and called “handled”?

For months, Washoe County has been doing what it does best: talking about the problem while calling it “naturally occurring” and “limited to certain areas.” Translation: “Don’t worry your little lungs about it.” But according to one of our inside sources, who requested anonymity (and probably a hazmat suit), the County is now planning to install a mechanical exhaust system to suck out the radioactive gas—at a cost of about half a million dollars.

Rarely does anyone send Picon a press release — let’s face it, Washoe County, the City of Reno, and the City of Sparks treat us like that one relative they hope skips Thanksgiving. But every now and then, something shiny lands in our inbox, and a few weeks ago it was from the U.S. Forest Service about the Capitol Christmas Tree Tour — and get this: for the first time ever, the national tree is from Nevada.

The CHAB Board Goes Silent — and So Does Accountability.

It’s been more than a year since the last Community Homeless Advisory Board (CHAB) meeting — and the silence is starting to sound suspicious.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month—a cause worth elevating. But is Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks elevating the cause, or elevating himself? Below is what Hick’s office posted a far cry from this year’s post featuring Hicks.

Sun Valley doesn’t just have a grocery problem—it has a leadership problem. While residents watched their only supermarket circle the drain, Commissioner Mariluz Garcia somehow missed the smell. Maybe she didn’t notice the bare shelves. Maybe she never set foot in her own neighborhood store. Or maybe she just didn’t care—until election season rolled around.

We owe a thank-you to Commissioner Mike Clark for playing courier service with the video he mentioned at the last meeting - you know the thumb drive he had in his pocket. Since Washoe County’s public records process moves slower than molasses in January, Clark saved us the wait and handed over the footage.

And oh, what a gem it is.

Picture this: Commissioner

If you’ve ever tuned into a Washoe County Commission meeting, you know the drill: Commissioners Clara Andriola, Alexis Hill, and Mariluz Garcia take turns singing the praises of county staff like they’re nominating them for sainthood. Not to say Commissioners Herman and Clark don’t heap on some compliments, but they avoid gushing.

A chilling comment made its way through Washoe County’s 311 system—a platform designed for service requests, not hate-filled threats. The message didn’t just criticize policy. It openly threatened the lives of county commissioners and anyone riding a motorcycle in Northern Nevada:

“Shame on you and you stupid white mfs I hope you guys get voted out… If I see one of those bikers I’m stepping on the gas and letting that scum fly over my car.”

This is not political speech. It is a promise of violence. And yet—where is District Attorney Chris Hicks?

Today’s Washoe County Commission meeting should be a real show. On Agenda Item 16, commissioners will decide which two of their own will sit on the shiny new study board tasked with exploring a county fire protection district. This comes courtesy of Senate Bill 319 (83rd Legislature), which mandates a look at consolidating fire services across Washoe County and the Cities of Reno and Sparks.

Sounds straightforward—until you ask who will get the seats.

On June 12, 2025, Reno Gazette Journal reporter Mark Robison dropped a little political grenade: a group of donors — now dubbed the “Gang of Eighteen” — were furious with Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan after he announced his candidacy for Washoe County District Attorney. Their big grievance? They wanted their political contributions back.

Yes, you read that right — refunds.

The money had originally gone to Duncan’s Sparks City Attorney race, which, thanks to a lack of an opponent, was essentially a political formality. But the Gang of Eighteen didn’t care about campaign technicalities. They staged their outrage publicly, then (for added flair) leaked it to the press.

Just when you thought the courtroom drama of Michael Leonard vs. Sarah Velto, Alex Velto, Connor McQuivey, Renoites, Devon Reese, and Reese Ring Velto PLLC couldn't possibly get more absurd — the script gets another rewrite.

Fresh off the wine-splashed tension of the Belleville Bar standoff between Leonard and Reese (yes, that one) earlier this year - then the police report, and following a steady stream of filings thicker than a Tolstoy novel in the 2nd Judicial District Court, a new character bursts onto the stage: Simons Hall & Johnston.

On July 1, 2025, in a move that shocked absolutely no one paying attention to the county’s pattern of “we love you, we loathe you,” staff invited CAB members to re-engage — this time to help with the Washoe County Evacuation Study. Yes, the same CABs that county employees previously rolled their eyes at, allude to the time suck the CABs require, and quietly plotted to dissolve like an unwanted committee meeting on a Friday afternoon.

The Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation (TMPF), once a staple of local conservation and community programming in Northern Nevada, has announced it is shutting down operations effective immediately. Staff have been laid off, programs are ending one by one, and the community is being left without services that once thrived under the organization’s stewardship.

The cause? What’s being described as significant financial mismanagement by former Executive Director Heidi Anderson.

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?

After hiring outside consultants to evaluate its County Managers Office leadership dysfunction, Washoe County got exactly what it paid for: a detailed Raftelis report outlining what many residents have known for years—there’s a breakdown in trust, communication, and strategic priorities at the top.

But instead of focusing on the actual substance of the report—like rebuilding credibility or creating a strategy that doesn’t resemble a bureaucratic scavenger hunt—Commissioner Mariluz Garcia had a different takeaway: Let’s move commissioner comments to the end of meetings. Because obviously, the real problem here is the order of the agenda, not the disconnect between elected officials and the public they serve.