Memories of the 83rd Nevada Legislative Session came rushing back when we saw a notice for a Regional Fire Services Study meeting scheduled for March 19.

The meeting was pushed out by the City of Reno — which is interesting timing given the city is dealing with the ongoing issues surrounding the Reno Police Department.

This latest discussion stems from the fire services summit involving the City of Reno, City of Sparks, and Washoe County.

Sound familiar?

Washoe Valley Residents Speak — But the Votes Were Already Counted …

At the Tuesday, March 10, 2026 meeting of the Washoe County Commission, the setup on the dais appeared clear from the start.

A trio had formed.

Commissioners Alexis Hill, Clara Andriola, and Mariluz Garcia seemed poised to overturn the earlier denial of the Sierra Reflections development by the Washoe County Planning Commission.

But before that vote arrived, the meeting began with what Commissioner Hill hoped was a dramatic moment.

When Grant Denton talks about accountability in his recent This Is Reno opinion, it’s hard not to laugh — not because accountability isn’t important, but because the people who have been asking Denton for accountability since May 2024 know how little of it they’ve received.

Those were the women who spoke out publicly about concerns surrounding the Karma Box Project Executive Director. Since then, many say they have been dismissed, ignored, or pushed aside by the very community leaders who claim transparency and compassion as guiding principles.

And our readers made sure to point it out.

Specifically, residents of Red Hawk — many of whom oppose the newly proposed housing development — contacted Picon after our story ran to highlight something we should have connected.

Back in 2024, Washoe County Commissioner Clara Andriola reported“in-kind rent” for office space at Red Hawk Golf and Resort on her Nevada Contribution and Expense report.

Three individuals who have worked for the Karma Box Project have been arrested since November 2025. That alone should raise serious questions about oversight and accountability.

At the same time, rumors continue to swirl that Karma Box Project has been replaced at the county’s Safe Camp by either RISE or Volunteers of America. Yet so far, no one at Washoe County seems willing to go on the record to confirm what is actually happening.

Phil Tenneon you are a marvel breaking another Karma Box employee arrest.

Once, in the bustling City of Reno, there lived a Princess of the Law named Connie. She did not wear a crown of gold; she wore a robe woven from thirty-four years of truth, and her scepter was a pen that had signed scrolls of justice.

Commissioner Mike Clark posted the recently released Washoe County annual summary of deaths connected to the emergency shelter campuses, and while the document checked every administrative box — dates, locations, causes, protocols followed — it missed something far more important: humanity.

Seven people died. Not “incidents.” Not “cases.” Not “data points.”
People.

Picon continues to marvel at the rare and mysterious presence of Her Highness, Commissioner Mariluz Garcia — a public servant said to possess the wisdom of Job, though she appears to keep most of it locked away from the very public she serves. Our humble observation is that she descends from the political mountaintop mainly when votes are required, and otherwise communicates through carefully polished statements and county staff intermediaries.

Picon applauds the journalistic professionalism of Our Town Reno, which reported yesterday that the CHAB: Community Homelessness Advisory Board meeting scheduled for February 9 was canceled due to “logistical issues.” One of Washoe County’s ever-reliable messaging representatives confirmed to Our Town Reno in writing:

“There was a broken link in the agenda that was discovered too late to fix and repost while still meeting the Open Meeting Law requirements. It will be rescheduled as quickly as possible.”

Nothing to see here, folks… just smile for the retreat photo.

We couldn’t help but notice Karma Box Project’s board retreat photo — the kind that looks like it came with instructions: stand close, look proud, project confidence. Message received.

What’s Taking So Long? The Grimsley case crawls forward … the slow speed of justice may finally be picking up—ever so slightly.

Mathew Grimsley of the Nevada Cares Campus / Karma Box Project, who was arrested on a charge of battery, now appears to have a court date on the horizon. And with it, the possibility that we may finally learn what is actually happening at Karma Box—the operator of the so-called “safe camp” that is being paid by the Washoe County Human Services Agency. You know those silly taxpayers.

After reading Mike’s Reno Report this morning, we thought we’d add a few observations from Monday night’s Washoe County Republican Central Committee meeting (January 27, 2026). You know—the one chaired by Bruce Parks, who has a habit of politically excommunicating Republicans who don’t fall in line, well his line.

Maybe that helps explain why Washoe County has over 103,000 registered Republicans, yet the Central Committee can only muster about 165 people as members, and that says a whole lot.

So… does Commissioner Garcia still support Sheriff Balaam the way she said she did from the dais on August 22, 2023 — or not?

That was a very public statement of support. No ambiguity. No qualifiers.

Well golly. It appears former Washoe County Manager Eric Brown has been job-hunting for about six months now—with no takers.

Are we surprised? Not even a little.

Brown governed from an ivory tower, punching down on rank-and-file employees, rewarding his direct reports, while turning a blind eye to taxpayers. Instead, he made sure to reward his inner circle—Bob Lucey, Vaughn Hartung, Alexis Hill, and Mariluz Garcia—while the people footing the bill were treated as an inconvenience.

Picon got more than a little entertainment out of the latest Washoe County Library Board of Trustees meeting. Public comment has officially crossed into slapstick territory, and frankly, we enjoyed every minute.

We were mildly amused yesterday when we were sent the Washoe County Justice Report—complete with a meme of Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks.

The report referenced a Picon story about the difficulty of obtaining public records and noted that we escalated the issue to DA Hicks and members of his staff. That part is true. What the report left out is that we’ve written numerous stories over the years about our ongoing battles to obtain public records from the District Attorney’s Office.

We noticed Commissioner Mike Clark posted a list of Sun Valley properties in need of intervention — parcels where people appear to be living without maintaining the land and, in some cases, without even owning it.

That alone raised eyebrows.

What raised more eyebrows was the sudden urgency from Commissioner Mariluz Garcia, who made a bit of a public hoopla over the issue — despite saying she’s been “working on this problem” for the last three years.

Three years?

When Chris Hicks was first elected Washoe County District Attorney, the sky truly seemed to be the limit. Those in the know believed he would go far. He was viewed as a rising star with promise, ambition, and opportunity.

But time took its toll.

Somewhere along the way, Hicks strayed from a basic principle of public service: the District Attorney is there to serve the taxpayers of Washoe County — not himself, not his friends, and not a circle of powerful supporters.

When The Nevada Independent recently reported that ICE arrests in Nevada don’t happen through dramatic raids, but rather through targeted, coordinated actions—often with the cooperation of local law enforcement—it triggered a memory we couldn’t shake.