Earlier this week Picon spoke with County Commissioner Mike Clark regarding the Point In Time (PIT) Count. After he read our article, he gave us a call about public records in his possession regarding the Wall Street Journal article we commented on. He shared the emails with us, saying, “maybe you can make sense out of them” and while we were surprised, we sure were not shocked Washoe County sunk low in order to get positive press making it appear they were reducing homelessness by 50% back in November 2023. They had absolutely no choice after the disaster of the CHAB (Community Homeless Advisory Board) meeting on September 11, 2023.

According to Washoe County Government the homeless/unhoused population that they had touted had been cut in half last year, now have bad news for all you taxpaying residents and, hey, the numbers are up, but only slightly, and Washoe County expected it.

The Good Old Boys are alive and well in local politics, while Mike Clark continues to be the outsider. Apparently seeking oversight of your tax dollars will brand you as an extremist…

First and foremost, let us address the issue at hand – the lack of rights at the homeless shelter.

In a surprising turn of events, Picon found themselves at the center of attention after posting a 2006 Temporary Restraining Order related to a Washoe County Commission District 4 candidate. The response was overwhelming, with a barrage of comments questioning our credibility, journalistic integrity, and fairness. Amidst the backlash, Picon noticed that some of the critics had less than honest Facebook accounts. Additionally, comments from a former candidate that took us to task, Randy Zachary, who later removed his comment after being confronted by Nevada Liberty.

Inexperience, coverups and journalistic gymnastics. The saga of the Washoe County ROV from records you have never seen…

We’ve been reading about the cost of groceries in Nevada. The Hill on January 16, 2024, reported residents in the Silver State fork over roughly $294.76 at the grocery store, enough to rank second in the nation. In February 2024, the news was bad for egg eaters, with prices on the rise yet again. How do older Americans stretch their dollars to eat, some depend on Washoe County Government.

How is a trespass order rescinded when it was never valid…

There’s an old saying that every man/woman has a right to his/her opinion, but no man/woman has a right to be wrong in their facts.

Despite rampant lawlessness at the shelter, instead the County seeks to arrest a former cop…

Apparently, Washoe County was incapable of hiring a local with the ability to run the county's information technology section, referred to as “IT.” Behzad Zamanian has actually worked for Washoe County since January 2021, and the county subsidized his travel to Washoe County where he was reportedly working one week a month on-site.

Picon realizes we are the Cinderella of Media in Washoe County. We get to sleep in the cinders while Mark Robison at the Reno Gazette Journal goes to the ball and hangs out with all the lords and ladies. He’s the pal of the Washoe County Government communications team. While we submit public record requests and wait weeks for results, Robison only needs to send an email and pretty much receives immediate results.

We asked ourselves shouldn’t homeless women and children come first. Would they not be considered the most vulnerable of the homeless population. There was $500 million available due to former Governor Steve Sisolak’s Home Means Nevada affordable housing initiative so shouldn’t all hands have been on deck at Washoe County to get housing built at Our Place? Why give the Cares Campus top priority, a no-barrier shelter in lieu of a low-barrier shelter. It is clear at Washoe County there was the ‘Care Campus team’ and the ‘Human Services Agency team’ and Howell was on the HSA team all alone. These two teams did not meet in the middle, in fact they were afraid of losing funding if they overpitched. The two teams did not align in their approach. This disconnect raises concerns about the coordination and communication within the county’s efforts to address the housing needs of the homeless community.

At the recent Washoe County Board of County Commissioner meeting, December 12, 2023, the annual review of County Manager Eric Brown was a topic of discussion. It is worth noting that Manager Brown’s compensation is slightly below that of Las Vegas County Manager Kevin Schiller, who was previously a Washoe County Assistant County Manager.

Considering that Las Vegas is the 11th largest city in the United States, there should be scrutiny regarding the slim difference between Manager Brown's compensation and that of the Las Vegas County Manager. This highlights the disparity in income between officials in different regions of Nevada. Considering the significant difference in population size and economic activity between Washoe County and Las Vegas, the closeness in compensation seems questionable.

After reading our Giddyup, Commissioner Clara Andriola article, one of our readers sent us five public records she had received after asking for the code violations based on a comment made by Commissioner Mike Clark.

We have been watching and listening to statements made by ‘Appointed’ Washoe County Commissioner Clara Andriola and are a bit perplexed, does she support hobby livestock businesses, because what does ‘the potential exploration of change’ mean. To us, Andriola is again trying to make it appear she is doing something for someone in Washoe County.

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.

A little nudge from Red Rock….

Whats the side-eye for ma’am…

Why is the Sheriff mansplaining….