Award-winning investigations, deep-dives and fact-checking articles by This Is Reno.
Reno council members spend big on travel and conferences, likely violating city policies
- Reno council members spend big on travel and conferences, likely violating city policies
- Reno City Council member Devon Reese’s big spending at Harvard and D.C.
- City of Reno spending irregularities aren’t isolated to council member Reese
- Reno City Council spending activities may violate state ethics laws
- Stonewalling: Council member refuses to answer questions
- City of Reno on the hook for mayor’s participation in national group
- Reno City Council donations appear to violate policies
- Reno’s city manager repeatedly approved spending violations
- Records show Reno council member reimbursed for more than he spent
- City of Reno spending violations similar to those found in 2018 audit
Reno officials would prefer you not know where city security cameras are
City of Reno officials went to great lengths last year to avoid releasing the locations of the city’s security cameras. This Is Reno requested locations of all City of Reno-operated security cameras in May. Despite multiple requests and an order for public records, the city only produced a vague list of security cameras with non-specific locations.
Has Reno reduced its homeless population by more than 50%?
A public relations blitz had various national media reporting bold claims about Reno’s homeless situation. Those claims were both exaggerated and false.
A seven-part series
Joseph and Kera Turner, who escaped the Dixie Fire in August of 2021, were sent to jail in Washoe County after being ordered to evacuate their California property and after they temporarily moved to Reno. Five days after they fled the fire, the Turners were arrested in the North Valleys. Criminal charges against them were dismissed, but their life was turned upside down by the ordeal, and they have never recovered thousands of dollars of property after the sheriff’s office took custody of their belongings.
Kat Olson quit working as an environmental health specialist at the Washoe County Health District in late 2022. She joined the district in 2020 just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her tenure there, she said, was marked by long hours and hard work, especially during the pandemic. A relationship with a colleague who started about the same time as her developed as a friendship. That changed in late January of 2022.
Downtown Reno’s cycle track, planned and approved for Center Street as the safest location for bike traffic downtown, went from to the favored choice by government boards to having “fatal flaws.” The project is on indefinite hold. The City of Reno says it’s unlikely it will ever be built. This report reveals what happened.
A “voter integrity petition” submitted Feb. 8, 2022 to Washoe County’s Board of County Commissioners by far-right, self-described patriots demands sweeping changes to local, state and federal election laws and practices. Those changes would be illegal if implemented.
A four-part series
This Is Reno began seeking answers into the criminal case against former Sheriff’s Sergeant Dennis Carry in 2020. In that time, we were continually met with resistance from the Reno Police Department, the City of Reno, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and the Reno City Attorney’s Office. Those entities denied access to information and individuals involved with this case and failed to follow Nevada’s public records laws on multiple occasions. Officials would not even confirm public information or respond to simple questions. Public records, however, including the criminal complaint and affidavit filed against Carry, reveal extensive details in this case, in addition to records obtained from local courts and even records obtained in partnership with Madison365.com in Wisconsin.
A man mysteriously disappeared in July of 2019. His remains were found in February of 2020. Nobody has been able to determine why Scott Madden went missing–and how he died.
What happened in 2020
Black Lives Matter, a loosely organized worldwide movement, has caused numerous institutions to question how they ensure recognition of Black, Indigenous and people of color. Here in Reno, local arts organizations and museums are being confronted with historically white legacies. The Nevada Museum of Art faced a dust-up after the murder of George Floyd. Artists said that the NMA has a problem: its leadership, allegedly, doesn’t live up to its stated mission of equity.
Former water official prevails in multi-year criminal case
The charges against Bob Coache amounted to more than four dozen felonies, including extortion by a public officer, bribery, misconduct by a public officer and money laundering. It was, according to the Clark County District Attorney’s office, an elaborate scheme. He was exonerated by the Nevada Supreme Court after spending more than a year in prison.
Trina Olsen arrived at Hug High School as an assistant principal in the fall of 2016. A 22-year Washoe County School District employee, she advanced from a board-certified teacher to a dean of students. She had a history of positive evaluations. Then came the 14-year-old student who arrived at Hug armed with knives and was critically injured when he was shot by a school police officer. After the incident, Olsen said her position at Hug devolved into a Kafkaesque ordeal where she raised concerns about campus safety, lack of student discipline, and she begged for help and assistance to meet job demands. She was then fired.
Washoe County Health District expands its authority amid turmoil, complaints
Washoe County’s Health District is under fire. The department is accused of retaliation, misuse of resources, and—perhaps most relevant to Reno’s housing crisis—unnecessarily delaying development projects. A number of critics—including small business owners, contractors, former employees, and high-level local government officials—said that the district is overreaching its authority.
