Jishnu Nair 🦈
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jishnews.bsky.social
Jishnu Nair 🦈
@jishnews.bsky.social
1.3K followers 960 following 30 posts
houston-based reporter. covering spaceflight+health for the Houston Biz Journal. he/him/his. shark 🦈+tabletop 🎲 enthusiast. my stuff: https://muckrack.com/jishnews.
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jishnews.bsky.social
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 rendering of the proposed "arrival garden" at Hermann Park, depicting trees and a shaded walkway. Rendering courtesy of Hermann Park Conservancy.
October 7, 2025 at 6:18 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
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 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."
October 7, 2025 at 6:18 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
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...
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.
October 7, 2025 at 6:18 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
#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...
(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.
June 19, 2025 at 3:06 AM
jishnews.bsky.social
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...
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.
June 3, 2025 at 1:09 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
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...
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.
February 28, 2025 at 9:58 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
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...
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.
February 24, 2025 at 9:12 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
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...
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.
February 21, 2025 at 8:20 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
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
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."
February 21, 2025 at 3:39 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
New: The Harris County attorney said potential NIH research cuts would put thousands of Houston jobs and millions of dollars in jeopardy in a court filing Thursday. www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...
The first two paragraphs of a Houston Business Journal article. They read: Slashing billions of dollars from National Institutes of Health funding would put Texas Medical Center research in jeopardy, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said in court filings this week. Menefee joined a coalition of 45 local governments from across the country that filed an amicus brief on Feb. 20 arguing against the efforts of President Donald Trump’s administration to slash indirect research costs the NIH pays for research institutions.
February 20, 2025 at 10:48 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
Story will be updated when I get to a computer, but this is what CEO and co-founder Trevor Best told the HBJ:
An email from Trevor Best, CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics. It reads: To answer your questions, due to the global slowdown in clean tech deployment, Syzygy has decided to scale down the company to match the pace of the clean tech market. Syzygy has had some tremendous successes in our field trials, and our technology is exceeding expectations in performance, but unfortunately we are seeing major institutions and companies back off on decarbonization goals and we are anticipating a more difficult environment for all cleantech going forward. This led us to make the difficult decision to reduce headcount – an impact to a little more than half of the company. It’s a devastating decision to eliminate jobs – especially because we care about each and every one of our employees. They represent the very best talent in our industry. Their contributions are why we have an amazing technology, and we’re so grateful for every one of them. Our team is focused on supporting those affected by offering outplacement services to help ease them into the next chapter. Regards, Trevor Best CEO – Syzygy Plasmonics
February 6, 2025 at 11:43 PM
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New from me: Syzygy Plasmonics, a chemicals manufacturing startup, has laid off nearly 70 Houston workers, including many on its reactor development team. www.bizjournals.com/houston/inno...
A screenshot of the intro to a Houston Business Journal article. The visible text reads: "Syzygy Plasmonics, a Houston-based decarbonization manufacturing startup, has laid off 68 local employees, citing financial struggles. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice letter filed to the Texas Workforce Commission and obtained by the Houston Business Journal, Syzygy Plasmonics said it has laid off 68 workers in Harris County."
February 6, 2025 at 11:31 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
They're up there for sure. This is the fy 25 data to date on active projects from RePorter. Only Baylor College of Medicine has more than MD Anderson
NIH active projects in the Houston area in fiscal year 2025 as of Jan. 29 NIH active project funding in the Houston area in fiscal year 2025 as of Jan. 29
January 30, 2025 at 3:47 PM
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As federal research funding goes under the spotlight, local economists in Houston told me the NIH's funding is crucial to fuelling the medical breakthroughs and clinical trials in the Bayou City. Here's a quick data dive: www.bizjournals.com/houston/news...
A bar and line chart showing the total number of National Institutes of Health awards and funding in the 9th Congressional District of Texas, which covers the Texas Medical Center. Funding rose after the onset of Covid-19, but has ticked back to pre-pandemic levels in the last two fiscal years.
January 30, 2025 at 2:11 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
And check out the new patch for The Space Between - our new commercial space coverage between the Houston Business Journal and the Orlando Business Journal.
The Space Between patch - a rocket blasting off, flanked by the states of Texas and Florida. The text alongside says: The Space Between: The Houston Business Journal and the Orlando Business Journal have teamed up to bring readers a more comprehensive look at the commercial space industry, from the Space Coast to Space City.
January 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
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Oh, and meet my cat, Reyna! She turned 5 last month :)
November 10, 2024 at 4:56 PM
jishnews.bsky.social
I'm originally a Jersey boy, but have lived and worked in Syracuse, NY, Harrisburg, PA, and Chapel Hill, NC. Outside of work, I love soccer (Arsenal and the Dynamo), cooking, trails and parks, the seaside, and tabletop games (always down to learn a new system!).
November 10, 2024 at 4:56 PM