The e-sports room at the University of Houston Sugar Land campus is designed for gamers.

How it works: Located on the first floor of The Albert and Mamie George Building, the room can hold 20 players for class, tournaments or recreational play. Professors of digital media courses at the university also use the space as a classroom to teach game design and gaming simulations.

Student organizations, faculty members and outside entities can fill out a form to request access to the space, and there is also designated free time for any student to come use the room on a first-come, first-served basis.

Why now: In 2023, Information Technology Manager Sadiq Sachwani and his colleagues began to hear more about e-sports rooms and toured a few spaces other universities had created. The team decided this was something they needed to focus on and started creating a proposal for the university.

What’s next: As for the future, Sachwani already has plans for a new e-sports room and maybe even an e-sports arena.

• 14000 University Blvd., Sugar Land

The Walmart Neighborhood Market store in Sugar Land is set to undergo after-hours renovations to streamline the shopping experience while remaining fully open to customers, store officials said.

The specifics: According to a store representative, Walmart’s remodel will incorporate elements of the company’s “store of the future” concept, where shoppers can experience several improvements including:

• Expansion of grocery pickup and delivery
• Updated pharmacy
• New Grab & Go section
• Expanded deli and produce
• New “community-focused” food and merchandise offerings

• 13322 W. Airport Blvd., Sugar Land

Suburban areas including New Caney East, Porter and West University  are leading the way in home sales growth, according to the Houston Association of Realtors’ latest Hottest Communities report for the third quarter of 2025. 

The top-ranked communities are seeing the largest increase in sales due to affordability and new construction continuing to attract buyers, according to an Oct. 27 news release. Eight of the top 10 communities reported average home prices below Houston’s overall average of $421,655.

The impact: Waller claimed the top spot for the third consecutive quarter with a 94.6% increase in home sales compared to last year. The area recorded 179 sales—more than 80% of which were new construction—with an average price of $335,255, down 13% year over year, according to the release.

The Crosby area followed with a 91.3% increase in sales, while West of the Brazos ranked third with an 86.8% jump. Hockley also made the list, seeing a 76.2% rise in transactions, per the release.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration on Nov. 17 lifted a flight reduction emergency order for 40 airports, including George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport.

What's happening: The FAA safety team indicated a steady decline in staff-trigger events in air traffic control facilities, such as delays and cancellations, and recommended that normal operations resume across the national airspace system, according to a Nov. 17 news release from the administration. 

According to previous Community Impact reporting, "high impact airports" such as IAH and HOU were ordered early November to cut flights by 10% in response to air traffic controller shortages due to the federal government shutdown, which ended Nov. 12. Federal employees, including air traffic controllers and some pilots, were not paid during this time.

One more detail: The FAA reported eight staffing triggers—an alert of insufficient staffing at an air control facility—Nov. 15 and only one on Nov. 16 compared to a record-high of 81 on Nov. 8, according to the release. 

Texans began receiving full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits Nov. 14, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced. The renewed SNAP payments came after two weeks of delays due to the 43-day federal government shutdown, which ended Nov. 12.

The overview: SNAP is a federally funded program that provides low-income individuals and families with monthly stipends to spend on groceries. The food assistance program ran out of funding Nov. 1, one month after the government shut down amid disagreements over federal health insurance subsidies.

The details: Over 3.5 million Texans receive SNAP benefits each month, according to Feeding Texas, the statewide network of food banks. Payments are issued on a rolling basis throughout each month.

“For SNAP clients who receive benefits on or after the 14th of the month, full benefits will be issued on their normal issuance date,” the HHSC website states. “SNAP clients who already received partial benefits will receive the rest of their monthly amount on or after Nov. 14.”