When silence isn’t an option: Devon Reese accidentally confirms he reads Mike’s Reno Report. Or he sure did about the loss of Harrah’s xx and downtown Boise.

It turns out Councilmember Devon Reese does read Mike’s Reno Report — or at least reads it closely enough to feel compelled to respond. Not with answers, mind you. Just vibes, deflection, and a carefully worded non-response that somehow managed to say everything while explaining nothing.

After several weeks of driving Washoe County to view the parcels of land generously handed over by Washoe County to EDAWN for sale, we feel compelled to acknowledge what is now obvious: EDAWN is no longer just an economic development group — it’s a government-funded real estate operation.

Congratulations on the rebrand.

Apparently, December 14, 2025 is now campaign season in Reno — at least according to four-time mayoral candidate Eddie Lorton, whose campaign signs began popping up months before candidates are even allowed to file for office.

According to Alexis Hill, running for governor is more intense than having a baby.

Really?

As taxpayers, forgive us if we don’t swoon. We’re a little busy wondering why we’re paying a full-time Washoe County Commissioner to audition for higher office on the public dime.

Beefy’s Burger Joint says it plainly: the building needs major repairs — plumbing, flooring, and essential maintenance that simply can’t wait. Because of it, they’ve had to temporarily close their doors. For a neighborhood spot with loyal customers, that’s heartbreaking.

If you listen closely — and sometimes all it takes is one podcast — you can hear the unmistakable sound of a campaign quietly warming up.

It certainly looks like Troy Regas is preparing a run for Washoe County Commission District 3, and if that’s the case, incumbent Mariluz Garcia may be facing her most serious challenge yet.

Regas isn’t new to the political ecosystem, and what makes this potential matchup interesting isn’t just ideology — it’s relationships.

At the last Washoe County District 2 CAB meeting there was a little unexpected theater courtesy of Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District. TMFPD gave a presentation that left residents scratching their heads, raising eyebrows, and possibly checking their wallets.

Because here’s the question no one answered clearly:

Is TMFPD already paying The Porter Group $5,000 a month to “find them funding”… or are they just thinking about paying them $5,000 a month? Or did they give the idea up.

We so enjoy trolling social media posts and frankly can’t believe what elected officials put up online. Our favorites are Reno Councilmember Devon Reese and Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson, but Washoe County Commissioner Mike Clark is moving up.

We saw Commissioner Mike Clark’s post celebrating that Eddie Lorton ignored him and Larry Chesney (Picon’s Publisher and candidate for Washoe County Commission District 5) at Carole Fineberg’s goodbye luncheon.

Yesterday should have been a simple holiday gathering — the Washoe Republican Women’s annual party at a member’s home. Cookies, ornaments, political small talk. Instead, it turned into yet another snapshot of the GOP’s ongoing identity crisis, starring none other than Commissioner Clara Andriola, who was there holding court like the club exists solely at her pleasure.

Bad karma is piling up fast — and it’s coming straight from Karma Box Project. Yet somehow, no matter what happens, Washoe County keeps circling the wagons to protect them. The question practically asks itself: why? What does the county know, what are they hiding, and why is no one in leadership willing to act?

Let’s lay out the facts that Washoe County Human Services Agency and County Manager Kate Thomas don’t seem eager to talk about:

So who watched the Reno City Council Meeting - we did.

And our take away …

Councilmember Kathleen Taylor finally snapped about downtown Reno — and honestly, it was the most enthusiasm we’ve seen on the council dais since someone mentioned their free catered lunch arrived.

Picon was delighted to see Mayor Hillary Schieve and her Spooge-sunscreen business partner splashing their product around on Wicked to push their latest skincare hustle.

The Mayor of Sparks, Ed Lawson, took to social media to grandly proclaim that he doesn’t read us.
And honestly? What a relief. We’d hate for him to trip over the articles about his greatest hits—like his dream of a toll road, or the time he championed the Lands Bill while paying his buddies to lobby for it long after the bill had flatlined.

After reading Mike’s Reno Report, and it is worth the read, we couldn’t help ourselves and simply had to query.

Only in Washoe County could the Republican Party roll into the holiday season with not one, but two Christmas parties — on the same day, with the same invitation template, but wildly different vibes.

On one side of the road, we have Event #1:
A polished, paid soirée at a building on 4th Street owned by — wait for it — a mayoral candidate. There’s valet parking, food, and enough political perfume in the air to make a lobbyist dizzy. This is the kind of party where you check your coat and your conscience at the door.

Our Town Reno and Mike’s Reno Report both have reported on Karma Box Project’s Matthew Grimsley’s arrest so we urge you to subscribe and follow them, but in the meantime let’s ask ourselves a very simple question:

Why does the Reno Gazette Journal blast out a major story on former Reno councilman Paul Anderson’s first domestic-violence arrest over Thanksgiving — yet say absolutely nothing when Matthew Grimsley, a third-time domestic-battery arrestee who works for Karma Box Project as a Safe Camp supervisor, is taken into custody?

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 …

Sorry we didn’t plan on another snarky story about Reno Mayoral candidates, but this is just too good to pass up. We couldn’t believe our eyes.

Some people spend Thanksgiving watching football. Others watch parades.
But here at Picon, we apparently watch Die Hard and then immediately think of local politics—because honestly, the similarities are uncanny.

Shaun Mullin, ladies and gentlemen, is officially the fly in Devon Reese’s ointment. The Hans Gruber to Devon’s corporate-holiday-party meltdown. The man shows up in a comment thread and suddenly our mayoral hopeful—who collects ethics complaints like tourists collect tiki mugs—cannot help himself. He has to respond. Every. Single. Time.

Holiday weekends are supposed to be quiet… but Reno never met a long weekend it couldn’t fill with intrigue, eyebrow-raising posts, and a few stories that practically write themselves. And because Picon hears from everyone — the kind, the cranky, the concerned, and the borderline-threatening — we figured we’d share a few morsels to go with your football watching.

First Up - Mayor Schieve, Belleville, and Spooge.

Last week, Picon’s publisher received an anonymous letter outlining deep concerns about the pace, impact, and lack of oversight surrounding growth in Washoe County. While the author chose not to sign their name, the frustration and urgency are unmistakable — and frankly, shared by many residents who write to us daily.

The letter describes a “web of uncontrolled growth,” decisions being made without transparency, and the growing feeling that ordinary residents have lost their voice in shaping the future of their own communities. The final line of the letter asks a simple but powerful question: