Picon is unapologetically amused.

Wes Duncan announces a run for Washoe County District Attorney and—poof!—a select few locals faint into their fainting couches like we're all trapped in some steamy 1860s Southern drama. Someone fetch the smelling salts—there’s a Republican challenger in the DA’s race, and the self-appointed gatekeepers of Washoe County are scandalized, and it seems are fearful of a primary.

Who died and made them the candidate police of the region?

As Washoe County Manager Eric Brown prepares to step down on June 30, 2025, a growing chorus of questions is beginning to echo across county hallways—and among local taxpayers. Is this a planned retirement… or a quiet retreat ahead of legal, ethical, and administrative scrutiny?

Brown, who took the reins in November 2019, leaves not just a high-paying position—with an annual salary reportedly over $330,000—but also a storm of controversy in his wake.

Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan has announced his candidacy for Washoe County District Attorney, setting the stage for a potential showdown with incumbent Chris Hicks. While Duncan's tenure in Sparks has been marked by a commitment to transparency and community engagement, Hicks' record on public access to records has been less than stellar.

If there’s one position more unstable than a Nevada slot machine on dollar night, it’s the Registrar of Voters in Washoe County. And once again, the revolving door is spinning—with lawsuits, cover-ups, whispers, and one very quiet County Manager in the eye of the storm, who just was missing for a month.

Since County Manager Eric Brown took the reins in November 2019, he’s burned through four registrars. Four. At this point, you’d have better luck keeping a cactus alive in a snowstorm than holding down that job under Brown’s management. And what’s the excuse? According to the county, it’s “threats” against election officials.

Picon was curious why yesterday's Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting wrapped up so quickly. The reason became clear when Commission Chair Alexis Hill made an appearance at the school district meeting shortly afterward. It seems the brief commission meeting was timed so Chair Hill could make it to the school district meeting and seize her fifteen minutes of fame.

Commissioner Hill went onto discuss a ‘great success’ RTC program that was launched last year by the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County but gave us no data.

Chief Judge Lynne Jones has been sounding the alarm about radon levels in Washoe County's historic courthouse—you know, that building failing radon tests and creating an unhealthy workspace for the people who serve our community daily. Yet County Manager Eric Brown and his crack team of direct reports continue treating her concerns with all the urgency of a golf tee time.

As Chief Deputy District Attorney Mary Kandaras enjoyed her retirement sendoff of cookies and flowers from Commissioner Clara Andriola at Tuesday's Washoe County Commission meeting, one question hung in the air like stale bureaucratic smoke: Will her departure make accessing public records easier, or are we about to discover based on an old saying, that the devil we knew was preferable to the devil we don't?

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.

If you’ve read the recent This Is Reno six-part series on employee payrolls at the City of Reno and Washoe County, you probably needed a stiff drink—or at least a calculator. It turns out that while residents are tightening their belts, local government is busy loosening theirs to make room for bloated paychecks, lush benefits, and zero accountability when it comes to fiscal responsibility.

Drew Ribar is suing Washoe County—and now, he's suing for the right to film it.

Ribar wants to record and post videos of court depositions from his lawsuit against the county, bringing transparency to a process often kept in the shadows. The depositions involve public employees. Taxpayer-funded. Government representatives. Yet the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office is fighting to keep the cameras off, citing vague “threats of harm” if the footage goes public.

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.

In the wake of last year's Davis Fire, which scorched parts of Washoe County in September 2024, a group of local homeowners associations (HOAs) convened on Tuesday at the Club at Arrowcreek for a Homeowner Association’s Community Communication & Collaboration meeting to discuss fire prevention and evacuation concerns. However, rather than outlining clear solutions or proactive measures, the session revealed a troubling trend: more blame-shifting than actual problem-solving.

Today at the Club at Arrowcreek there is a gathering put together by a lobbyist and Homeowners' Associations from some of Reno's most exclusive enclaves for what they've billed as a "Fire Disaster Summit" – though "Fundraising Expedition" might be more accurate.

Turns out the Great Library Budget Crisis of 2025 was nothing more than a work of fiction, authored by none other than former Library Director Jeff Scott. For six long months, Scott spun a budget fairytale worthy of a Netflix limited series—complete with looming layoffs, weeping children, and seniors fearing they'd have to turn to YouTube tutorials instead of librarians for help.

Why is the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District all but broke? Could it be those boated salaries being paid to upper management at the department, you know, not the boots on the ground fire firefighters? Could it be the large increases approved by Chief Charlie Moore to his direct reports before his departure? How about a little bit of all of the above.

Washoe County's Curious Financial Priorities

In a dazzling display of fiscal cognitive dissonance, Washoe County is preparing to honor its Chief Financial Officer Abbe Yacoben at the annual Nevada Women's Fund Women of Achievement Gala this May. The same Washoe County that is currently navigating a $27 million budget shortfall. The same CFO who presumably has access to a calculator.

The financial saga unfolding at Washoe County Library raises more questions than a mystery novel. With a base budget of $12 million annually, the library system has accumulated additional funding requests to stay “whole” $1.3 million from the Washoe County General Fund and $3.2 million from the Library Expansion fund — and now we’ve got Baker & Tayler $850,000 and OverDrive, Inc. $300,000 asks from recently-resigned director Jeff Scott on the commission agenda on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

The Washoe County District Attorney's Office and their Public Information Officer are certainly vocal when celebrating their wins—like the recent four life sentences handed to a child abuser. Press releases, media alerts, perhaps even a congratulatory social media post or two.

Yet a deafening silence surrounds questions about a more recent tragedy: the April 2025 death of five-year old Izabella Loving whose father now faces charges with the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office is investigating. What's conspicuously missing from the DA's outreach efforts is any transparency regarding Washoe County Human Services Agency's potential involvement with this family. The information we are being sent is shocking but nothing can be verified due to the investigation, but Human Services Agency must be accountable if any of the information we have been sent turns out to be factual.

Is Washoe County playing a shell game with building priorities? Commissioner Mike Clark's persistent quest for radon test results at the Washoe County Courthouse raises some interesting questions about project sequencing.

Clark has reportedly been trying for months to obtain radon testing data from 2017/2018, along with results from tests supposedly conducted in February 2025. His struggle to access this basic public safety information is curious, to say the least.

Commissioner Clark frequently reaches out to us at Picon since the other three commissioners give us the silent treatment. As for Commissioner Herman? After eleven years of being ignored on the commission, who knows if she's still engaged or has mentally checked out.