Good grief — the Republicans of Washoe County are at it again. It’s 2026, the primaries are warming up, and apparently, the bench is so shallow you can see the bottom.

We’d hoped for new faces, new voices, maybe even new ideas. Instead, the Washoe County Republican Party is serving reheated leftovers — and calling it strategy.

Mike’s Reno Report nailed it: Kate Marshall posting a New York Times article about Iowa City’s fare-free bus program isn’t policy — it’s aesthetic politics, the political equivalent of putting a plant in the background of your Zoom call to appear grounded and responsible.

A repost is cheap. Leadership isn’t.

Here’s the latest: Washoe County just inked a two-year contract with County Manager Kate Thomas, paying her nearly $339K a year — only marginally lower than her predecessor, who earned $341K. And yes, that’s happening while the county is juggling a $27 million budget deficit.

Welcome to Reno, where even the charities that pick up the slack for the city might soon pay for the privilege. The latest target: local nonprofits — you know, the ones filling the gaps that government can’t manage, the ones feeding seniors, sheltering people, and fighting fires in the social safety net.

The City of Reno is proposing nonprofit registration regulations that could force nonprofits to pay business-license–style fees. According to a city announcement, officials are concerned that without formal registration, some nonprofits operate “under the radar,” avoiding fire code, zoning compatibility checks, and other safety reviews. So now they want to enforce an “ordinance governing this matter” — and possibly charge fees that nonprofits currently don’t pay.

Remember 2016? When Washoe County voters were told schools were literally crumbling around our children and the only thing standing between students and structural collapse was a sales tax hike wrapped in a shiny PR campaign called “Save Our Schools.”

What voters weren’t told:
– Enrollment was already projected to decline.
– Developers didn’t want “per door” fees like other cities use to fund infrastructure.
– And the PR machine running WC-1 was also building a very cozy political ecosystem that now shapes the WCSD board and beyond.

Well, mark your calendars — Picon just agreed with the Nevada Press Association. We know. We’re shocked too.

Apparently, the Nevada Legislature has enrolled itself in a crash course titled “How to Lose an Election in 3 Easy Bills,” and Assembly Bill 3 is the final exam. Nothing says “we care about transparency” quite like tightening privacy laws right as public records wait times are already long enough to qualify for archaeological status.

Washoe District Judge Kathleen Sigurdson will remain on the Michael Leonard lawsuit involving Devon Reese, Alex Velto, and Conor McQuivey. A motion had challenged her impartiality, but Judge Barry Breslow ruled there was no evidence of bias sufficient to warrant removing her from the case. He noted, however, that the “significant concerns” raised by the motion can still be addressed later on appeal, should the case reach that point.

Something strange is happening at the Washoe County Senior Advisory Board — and seniors deserve to know exactly what’s going on.

At the October 8, 2025 meeting, the board discussed moving current District 5 representative Pam Roberts into the suddenly vacant District 1 seat. On paper, that looks like a routine housekeeping matter. In reality, it raises a long list of uncomfortable questions.

A Distrcit 1 seat that seemed to have emptied itself … conveniently - if you listen to the July 9, 2025 Zoom Senior Advisory Board Meeting. The person who previously held the District 1 seat “suddenly resigned.” No real explanation. No public discussion. No clarity on whether the resignation was voluntary or… encouraged.

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.

Reno just lost another print newspaper. Again.

The Reno News & Review (RN&R) announced this week that it’s ending its print edition — the second time in recent years it has done so. For longtime readers, it’s déjà vu. First the racks disappeared and the paper went digital-only. Then, after a change in ownership, the presses started up again and the city’s coffee shops and breweries once more filled with those familiar stacks of RN&R issues.

Now, the presses are silent again.

Washoe County seems to have cracked the code on “senior engagement.”
Spoiler alert: it’s called volunteerism.

Yep — somewhere in the Human Services Division, someone must have decided that seniors don’t need fun, stimulation, or community. Nope. What they really need is to stuff envelopes, run errands, and “stay active” by doing unpaid labor that conveniently makes the county look good.

Since we’re already having a petty day (thank you, City of Reno T-shirt inquiry), let’s move right along to our next question of the week — this one courtesy of four-time Reno mayoral candidate Eddie Lorton.

Eddie took to Facebook recently to raise a “quorum concern” about several Reno City Council members attending the India Association of Northern Nevada event. We’ll give him this — he’s consistent about showing up where cameras and questions are.

We couldn’t help but notice those matching shirts the Reno City Council members wore at the Veterans Day Parade — very coordinated, very official-looking. Cool City of Reno swag.

Here’s our question: did taxpayers pick up the tab for those?

We couldn’t help but smile today when a few speakers during public comment — including some UNR students and a Midtown representative — took to the mic to thank Councilmembers Miguel Martinez, Brandi Anderson, and Devon Reese for their “generous donations” to their organizations.

As we pause this Veterans Day to honor the men and women who have worn the uniform — those who have put themselves in harm’s way and those who paid the ultimate price — we find ourselves reflecting not only on their sacrifice, but on what we, as a community, are doing with the freedoms they fought to protect.

And that brings us, strangely enough, to Veterans Memorial Elementary School in Reno.

While the Washoe County School Board prepares to reassign or “repurpose” the school, one has to wonder: why would a district even consider reassigning a school that honors our veterans — especially this week? There is a meeting to discuss the repurposing on November 12th at least they didn’t schedule the meeting on Veterans Day.

On May 28, 2025, a quiet stretch of Washoe Valley road became the scene of a tragedy. Cyclist Joshua Neely was struck and killed — and the driver responsible, Travis Smith, didn’t stop.

While the family of Joshua Neely grieves, Smith’s legal team appears busy shielding assets. That tells a story of its own — one of financial insulation rather than remorse.

Once upon a time in Reno, there was a community rallying to “Save Lakeridge.” Lawn signs sprouted, neighbors united, and for a moment, it looked like the little people might actually hold their ground against big development. Fast-forward to today — and the movement that once had fire in its belly now feels more like a members-only club with a cover charge.

At a July meeting of the retooled Save Lakeridge LLC, residents expected transparency, plans, and maybe even a little hope. What they got instead was mystery theater. The group proudly announced they’d hired two lawyers and a lobbyist — then didn’t name them. No explanation of their roles, no strategy, not even a slide deck. Attendees were told to write their questions on cards, and only the “chosen ones” were read aloud. The rest? Filed under “never mind.”

It’s that time again — Reno City Hall’s annual game of “Who Wants to Be Vice Mayor?” The suspense is thick enough to cut with a council agenda. The November 12th meeting promises interesting ‘deals’ that may have been crafted behind the scenes.

Rumors are flying around town faster than free-range pigs at a county fair. Everyone’s got a theory about who’ll get the title. City Hall watchers are already placing bets on who might emerge as the mayor’s next right-hand. The logic seems simple: who will get the most bang for the buck and that might very well be Mayor Schieve’s ‘bestie’ Councilmember Devon Reese. Heck, she just threw a fundraiser for him at The Elm Estate.

The Washoe County Republican Party might want to invest in a spreadsheet — or at least a group chat — because the 2026 ballot is shaping up to be one giant, red-tinted identity crisis.

First, there’s the Reno mayor’s race. Two elephants, one chair: Councilmember Kathleen Taylor, who rode GOP backing to a razor-thin win in 2024, and perennial candidate Eddie Lorton, the party’s forever date who’s back for another dance.

The City of Sparks has discovered a new way to “serve and protect” — by charging you for it.

Facing an $18 million budget shortfall, Sparks officials are floating something called a “First Responder Fee.” Translation: if you have the bad luck to need emergency medical help, and the Sparks Fire Department shows up first, you could get a $527 bill.

That’s right. The people who are supposed to show up when your heart stops or your car crashes now come with a surcharge.