Jishnu Nair 🦈

Overflowing ER beds and a dented master plan: How Harris Health's planned expansion will reshape Hermann Park - Houston Business Journal Overflowing ER beds, a planned garden and historical claims on Houston green space all come together as a local hospital moves closer to expansion.

And on top of that, there are legal considerations for a piece of land that's been relatively untouched for over a century. So make sure to read our story and check it all out: www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...

A rendering of the proposed "arrival garden" at Hermann Park, depicting trees and a shaded walkway. Rendering courtesy of Hermann Park Conservancy.

But the land is part of Hermann Park, now over 110 years old, which has previously seen chunks taken to develop the Texas Medical Center. Cara Lambright, who leads the Hermann Park Conservancy, shared plans for a healing garden on the land that will likely be scrapped for the Ben Taub expansion.

A pie chart titled "Ben Taub Emergency Department Status 2020-2025." The description says: "In the last five years of operation, Ben Taub's emergency department has been at "saturation" status for over 40,000 hours — meaning the department reached or was over its maximum patient capacity during those hours."

Harris Health approved the use of eminent domain to condemn the land in late September. Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, CEO of Harris Health, said that land is essential - for the past five years, Ben Taub Hospital has spent most of its operating hours at maximum or saturation status - meaning no beds.

A map created in Datawrapper by Jishnu Nair and Wyatt Loy for the HBJ. The location of Harris Health's Ben Taub Hospital is shaded in blue. The land targeted for condemnation and an expansion of Ben Taub is shaded in orange. The two shaded sites are separated by Lamar Fleming Street.

Exclusive from me for HBJ: This summer, we heard about plans to expand one of Houston's only public hospitals - at the cost of park land. But what would that actually mean? I interviewed local leaders and dove into public records to find out: www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...

Welcome to the Ajax Archive

And the start of a new creative venture is officially live! Feel free to sign up for my new newsletter, the Ajax Archives, for free monthly content including behind the scenes of game design, industry musings, and small things to plug into your games like NPCs and settings
mailchi.mp/8ec5fa173ae3...

I waited an our in the FIFA queue and after the final countdown…. It kicked me out. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tomorrow: #BigTechsInvisibleHand, an investigation by 17 media outlets in 13 countries, reveals nearly 3,000 lobbying actions by companies such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, and TikTok to curb regulations and protect their interests. @techpolicypress.bsky.social @lighthousereports.com

Greg Abbott has added abortion restrictions to the agenda for the TX legislature's special session, starting July 21.

The state's anti-abortion movement faced a huge loss this session w/ its bill to block telehealth abortion. They've been calling for another chance.

gov.texas.gov/uploads/file...

Judge Chris Cooper: "HHS’s refusal to spend the appropriated grant funds is revealed as a quintessential policy choice by the Executive Branch: We no longer think it necessary to spend federal funds on helping local governments prevent and mitigate future pandemics because the latest one has ended."

(A screenshot of a Houston Business Journal article dated June 18, 2025 by Jishnu Nair.) Story Highlights A federal judge has blocked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from taking back millions in previously awarded grant funding. Four local governments, including Harris County, are owed about $32.7 million collectively in grant funding. The grants funded public health initiatives enacted in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

#ICYMI: A federal judge temporarily blocked Health and Human Services from clawing back millions in grant funding that had been awarded to Harris County.

www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...

Reddit sues Anthropic, alleging it accessed Reddit 100K+ times after saying it had stopped; Reddit has reached formal licensing deals with OpenAI and Google (Meghan Bobrowsky/Wall Street Journal)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

I got a fever

And the only prescription

Is stories about big fish

We've reached out to the Texas HHSC for further comment.

A screenshot of a June 3 Houston Business Journal article by Jishnu Nair including the story highlights. Those highlights are: Rosenberg-based Texana Center is laying off 185 employees due to insufficient funding. Affected services include Medicaid waiver programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Texana Center also plans to sell 13 group homes in affected counties.

Citing a drop in state funding, Rosenberg, TX-based Texana Center is laying off 185 workers. The center is the Local Mental Health Authority for 6 Texas counties, including Fort Bend and Waller in the Houston area.
www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...

Wisk Aero, a Boeing subsidiary, said it's entered talks with Metro in Houston for potentially using some of its Park and Ride sites as vertiport hubs outside local airports. More details + pics here: www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...

The proposed site would be located on 236 acres within the Generation Park development created by McCord Development for life sciences manufacturing. I wrote about that development's plans to land a major pharma company last year: www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...

Scoop from me: Eli Lilly and Co. filed for tax abatements from Sheldon ISD for a pharmaceutical manufacturing site in northeast Harris County: www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...

i'm telling you, the "hurricane season is starting" news coverage we need right now is helping people & communities prepare to survive in a scenario where there's no federal help coming

Donate to Support Houston Landing journalists and staff facing layoffs, organized by Mike Morris This week, the Houston Landing’s CEO informed dozens of dedic… Mike Morris needs your support for Support Houston Landing journalists and staff facing layoffs

I know it's hard for everyone right now, but the staff of the Houston Landing is being laid off after mismanagement by their board and upper management. Many are good friends, all are top notch journalists, and they could use some help while they look for new jobs.

www.gofundme.com/f/support-ho...

Houston Landing to cease operations in face of financial challenges Although Houston Landing launched with significant seed funding, it has been unable to build additional revenue streams to support ongoing operations.

well, this sucks. houstonlanding.org/houston-land...

Our newsroom @thexylom.com has more than five times the number of followers and engagement here than we ever had on Twitter with roughly the same effort.

Not only is it possible, but I argue it's even easier to grow an audience on Bluesky because of starter packs.

A group of families watch a screen in an Aldine Independent School District classroom. This is a pilot of Bili, a language learning and preservation app.

I really appreciated the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Veronica Benavides and learn about her technology pilot preserving language learning at Aldine ISD. Check out my feature here: www.bizjournals.com/houston/inno...

Trump fires NOAA scientists helping whales and offshore wind coexist Scores of employees working to ensure offshore wind has a low impact on whales, birds, and other wildlife were cut in a major round of layoffs at the…

Yesterday’s NOAA purge ousted two PhD biologists from a team created last year to protect critically endangered whales in the Southeast.

Also, 14 were gutted from the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Another 14 from the Southwest Fisheries Science Center.

www.canarymedia.com/articles/off...

Here's the story behind the headless robot. Many thanks to @jrdnbwn.bsky.social for talking to me for this story.

www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco...

My staff and I are closely tracking the potential measles exposure in San Antonio that originated with a visitor from West Texas.

If you visited any of the locations listed below, please watch out for symptoms (including fever or unexplained rash) and contact a doctor right away if they occur.

An official portrait of NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche. The caption reads: Vanessa Wyche has been named acting associate administrator of NASA, effective immediately, after leading Johnson Space Center since July 2021.

Vanessa Wyche, the first Black woman to lead a NASA center, is taking up the role of acting associate director at the agency's HQ in Washington DC. www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...

Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread - KFF Health News Health officials expect a measles outbreak in West Texas to exceed 100 cases because of low vaccination rates and undetected infections. Vaccine misinformation and new laws may make such situations mo...

🚨Texas measles outbreak nears 100 cases, w/16 hospitalizations. Officials suspect it's spilled just across the border to New Mexico.

Low vax rates+undetected infections mean it will grow.

“This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better”

My latest kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

A full list of the UTMB clinics now in network with Aetna can be found here: www.utmb.edu/utmbhealth/l...

Galveston’s biggest medical provider is back in-network with a major insurance company nearly four years after their split in May 2021. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston said Feb. 20 that effective immediately, Aetna members will be covered at the in-network level for health care.

Nearly 5 years after UTMB-Galveston terminated it's deal eith Aetna, Galveston's largest care provider is back in network. UTMB told me this means the health system is in network with all four major insurers. www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...

A message on the re:search TX dashboard which says: "For the time being, case updates and documents will not be available for Fort Bend. Thank you for understanding."

Sorry for the shitty screenshot, but do any TX lawyers/legal folks know why the re:search TX dashboard isn't showing Fort Bend County court updates/docs? State courts aren't my usual beat so I might've missed something obvious