Oh, the political theatre …

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the City of Reno's latest performance, where our starring trio – Mayor Schieve, Councilmember Reese, and Interim Manager Bryant – delivered an Emmy-worthy display of municipal make-believe. With a whopping 1,024 YouTube views, this December 4th spectacle proved that bad theater isn't just for community playhouses anymore, you can see it at this City of Reno Council meeting with no ticket needed.

We were going to pen an article about the need for Alex Woodley to step aside (AKA resign) from his Washoe County Library Trustee District E, but This Is Reno did such a great job we thought we’d just share their newsletter for subscribers. (You should become a subscriber so you too could have the This Is Reno newsletter delivered to your inbox).

Picon only added a few thoughts because we are far snarkier than This Is Reno. Kids are glued to their cell phones, and it is an unfair task for teachers to separate them during classes. We’re surprised more parents aren’t in an uproar over Mr. Woodley’s sexting – have we all become so immune or has TikTok taken over our brains. A Reno city employee using a city cell phone to sex-message during a school board meeting? Really, that just has such a bad image.

Okay, we can hear everyone out there gnashing their teeth with Picon writing that we really enjoyed the former Director of Code Enforcement at the City of Reno, Alex Woodley. He seemed to be fair and friendly and was willing to talk to the press.

Our Town Reno asked a question last week and that was can Frank Perez win the City of Reno Ward 1 City Council race. Picon thinks there is a more important question to be asked, and that is “does Frank Perez really want to win” or was he the “buffer” candidate that stopped Lily Baran from getting elected.

Baran would owe her allegiance to no one, and we think some powers that be on the Reno City Council didn’t want that. Just look at Perez’s social media he is besties with many movers and shakers, mostly Commissioner Mariluz Garcia, Councilmember Miguel Martinez and School Board Trustee Alex Woodley.

We always enjoy Shaun Mullen’s Nextdoor posts, and yesterdays was just a wonderous thing.

Picture this: It's 2018, and Maureen McKissick is spilling tea so scalding it could melt the Sierra snow cap. Fast forward to today, and Alex Woodley's alleged sexting scandal has us all feeling like we're trapped in a bad remake of "50 Shades of Government Gray."

Picon has been following a number of rumors about the City of Reno Government Code Enforcement Director Alex Woodley, who just happens to also be a Washoe County School District Trustee, resigning from his job at the City of Reno on Wednesday, October 9^th.

What is that flavor? Is that lemon verbena?

The dish was lush, silky — if silk were conjured from chocolate, sugar and cream. It tastes so fresh, it’s like sipping rain.

 Do you see where we’re going with this?

Okay, Picon will admit to sometimes being frustrated by Jenny Brekhus over these many years when she has taken us down the path of doing what is right for the City of Reno residents.

Is it frustrating listing to Councilmember Brekhus trying to hold us all to a higher standard, yes.

Is it exhausting, and sometimes you want to side with her foes, one wants to shout, “Jenny, can you just let it go.”  

Brekhus has been a champion of the residents of Reno since the day she was elected. No one can dispute that.

Not at the City of Reno where there is almost no disclosure. Oh sure, at all the meetings often one of the councilmembers or mayor reads a disclosure statement, but we’ve had a difficult time remembering individuals not voting on an item because of a disclosed conflict.

Picon lifts the lid on this story, exposing the stark contrast between official narratives and street-level realities in the Biggest Little City.

The first gentlemen’s clubs, most established in London from the late 17th century onwards, were highly exclusive, offering aristocratic and wealthy men a refuge from work and family. The eligibility of potential members depended on their class and genders, with women banned…

Picon ponders the tit for tat of politics this season. Okay, we’ll take some of the heat because we can be petty and snarky too but is it simply too much this year? Do we have the wrong people in office? Too many appointed individuals?

As the dust settles after elections, it becomes clear that our elected officials are driven by the desire for re-election. Instead of prioritizing the needs of the constituents who elected them, they seem more focused on securing their next position to advance further in the political hierarchy.

Ever wonder what the City of Reno is spending your hard-earned taxpayer dollars on. Legal stuff. Lots and lots of legal stuff…

Picon was sent these photos from a reader who was around the Nevada Cares Campus last week.

The photos snapped of a recently purchased, bright and shiny, totally branded vehicle for Karma Box Project from the City of Reno.

Picon finds it curious that City of Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve indicated in an interview with RGJ Mark Robison that the firm the City of Reno retained to investigate Councilmember Jenny Brekhus was someone from out of the area, but in fact that seems to be a bit of a mistruth. Schieve commented to Robison in the November 7, 2023, article, “It was decided to hire a Reno litigation attorney Brian Irvine of Dickinson Wright to find an investigator who was “very, very removed from the political environment here.” Schieve added the person was picked from out of state.

Politics collide at the RSCVA…

Who does Hillary Schieve have in mind…

Reno fails to disclose who their first choice was…

More rules for thee and not for me…