At what point does Washoe County stop pretending everything is fine?

Here we go again. Another mess tied to Karma Box Project, and somehow Washoe County still can’t seem to connect the dots. How many stumbles does one contractor get before the county finally admits the obvious: something is very, very wrong here. Matthew Grimsley, a Karma Box Project who works at the Safe Camp at the Nevada Cares Campus was arrested for domestic battery for the third time.

And this time, there’s no Dana Searcy or Eric Brown left to blame.
This one lands squarely on the shoulders of newly installed County Manager Kate Thomas.

Let’s take a quick trip down Karma Box Memory Lane …

Yesterday we published a story hoping someone with a bigger reach might amplify it — and bless their souls, Our Town Reno picked it up. They have a megaphone compared to Picon’s whistle, and for that we’re grateful. We’re happy being the “little engine that could,” the outlet everyone swears they don’t read… yet somehow always seem to react to. That’s our comfort zone.

But today we’re stepping out of that zone.

Because what’s happening at the Safe Camp — and how residents are reacting to it — can no longer be brushed aside with a smile, a ribbon, and a county press release from what we lovingly call the Propaganda Princesses at Washoe County.

At what point does compassion turn into a blank check?

Washoe County taxpayers are pouring astronomical sums into the Nevada Cares Campus, the county’s sprawling answer to homelessness — and yet, despite the millions spent, the problem on the streets isn’t getting smaller. It’s multiplying.