Rise & Grind Coffee Co. opened in mid-July at The Food Zone in Porter. 

Some context: Owned by Roxanna Paz, this is the first permanent location for the coffee shop, which began a home-based business a few years ago. As previously reported by Community Impact, Rise & Grind Coffee Co. will be located in the space formerly occupied by Ivy Coffee Co.

On the menu: Per the Rise & Grind Facebook page, beverages range from $4.50-$6.50, with menu items including flavored iced lattes as well as lemonade and hot chocolate. Drinks can be customized with a variety of milk and flavor options, as well as add-ons. 

• Opened July 17
• 23242 FM 1314, Porter 

HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood announced Dr. Arabinda "Ara" Pani as the hospital's new chief medical officer, via a July 13 news release.

Career history: After graduating from Vanderbilt University and earning his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, Pani completed his emergency room medical residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center before earning his master's in healthcare administration from the University of Texas.

Per the release, Pani is board certified in emergency medicine and previously practiced at Dignity Health Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott, Arizona, where he held several leadership roles.

Most recently, Pani has served as the chief medical officer at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest since January 2023.

Quote of note: "Dr. Pani brings a strong track record of physician leadership and a deep commitment to delivering exceptional patient care," said John Corbiel, CEO of HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood, in a statement. "His experience leading quality initiatives and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams will be instrumental as we continue to serve the growing healthcare needs of the Lake Houston community."

• 22999 Hwy. 59, Kingwood

Officials with the National Weather Service issued tropical storm watches for portions of southeast Texas as Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to make landfall by the end of the week.

What we know: Tropical Storm Bertha maintained strength overnight according to data from the NWS, but is still expected to not strengthen beyond a tropical storm before making landfall across Louisiana and Texas. However, officials said the storm itself should not cause significant impact to the region.

NWS officials urged residents along the coast in Brazoria, Chambers and Galveston counties to continue any storm preparations before Bertha makes landfall. The storm watch along the Texas coast is in effect until 6 a.m. July 24 unless it is extended.

In their words: "Bertha will bring scattered showers and thunderstorms through the day, but the threat for excessive rainfall/flash flooding is marginal," NWS officials said in a July 22 news release. "While there is not a storm surge risk, there is a threat of minor coastal flooding."

Check out several back-to-school events happening around Houston. 

Cy-Fair Helping Hands Back to School Bash
During the Cy-Fair Helping Hands Back to School Bash, students will receive free school supplies, family resources and books. The event will also feature family activities, first responders and equipment.

• July 25, 9 a.m.
• Free
• Calvary Community Church, 7550 Cherry Park Drive, Houston

• July 25, 11 a.m.
• Free
• 11714 Boudreaux Road, Tomball

• July 30, 6-8 p.m.
• Free
• 6110 N. Fry Road, Katy

With large parts of the state under an extreme heat warning or heat advisory through July 23, the operator of Texas’ independent power grid is projecting record-breaking electric demand this week.

What's happening: As of 3 p.m. July 22, there were 90,027 megawatts of demand on the grid with 113,543 megawatts of power available, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' real-time supply and demand dashboard. One megawatt of electricity can power about 250 homes during peak times.

This would break ERCOT’s current demand record of 85.5 gigawatts, which was set during an August 2023 heat wave. ERCOT spokesperson Trudi Webster cautioned that this week’s demand records are preliminary.

What it means: Texans should not expect a grid emergency during this week’s extreme heat.

ERCOT previously projected that demand would surpass 92,000 megawatts this summer, due to high temperatures, moderate rainfall and the growth of data centers.

This week's triple-digit temperatures come during the sunniest parts of the day, allowing the state to rely in part on solar energy to power the grid.