🎮 Is Philly game to be a gamer hub?

☔ Possible Debby-Related Flooding in Philly Area

Forecasters say rain from Tropical Storm Debby will continue this week in shifts. Expect an additional 3 inches through Friday, with possible flooding in some areas. [Inquirer 🔒]

🏥 First Urgent Care Walk-In Mental Health Clinic To Open

Starting Sept. 3, Philadelphians will be able to receive care at a new clinic near North Broad Street and West Allegheny Avenue. The Merakey and city-operated center will offer prescription refills, counseling, psychiatric evaluations, and more. [WHYY]

🎨 What Will Become of Philly’s Graffiti Pier?

Five years ago, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation proposed converting the site popular with artists into a public park. But Conrail, the owner, is now suggesting that Graffiti Pier may never become a public park, and is considering building condos there or turning it into an active industrial site. [WHYY]

🎮 Councilmember Exploring Philly as Gaming Hub

Majority Whip Isaiah Thomas wants to see the video game industry grow in Philly, and believes it can benefit the city culturally and financially. He’s hoping Philadelphians see this potential by attending the Sept. 14 PHL Gaming conference. [PhillyVoice]

• ICYMI: We talked with Councilmember Thomas on the podcast earlier this week about other issues, including youth homelessness and voting. [City Cast Philly 🎧]

In 2022, the Philadelphia Department of Commerce created a new position to help make Philly’s nightlife even better: the Night Mayor. City Cast Philly host Trenae Nuri spoke with Night Mayor Raheem Manning about the role and the needs of the businesses and people who keep our city going from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

How would you grade our nightlife in Philly?

“We are on track to be an amazing destination city for nightlife. And I think we have a lot of great infrastructure and a lot of great bones. We need to turn it up a notch so that we are a globally competitive hub for nightlife and arts culture and tourism. [...] If we want to continue to grow and be this true 24-hour city, and we want to compete with our neighbors to the north and to the south and across seas, we have a couple other things that we need to change and we need to kind of get together to get there.”

What have you learned from other cities and their Night Mayors that you would like to incorporate in Philly?

“You hear a lot of the New York stuff, because there are longer operating hours, and that's something we're exploring here in the city. If you’ve been over to Europe, they party til the sun rises. And that’s, like, a standard in a lot of parts of the world. So if we want to attract people from those places, where they come to Philly and have a great time, we have to [...] have that option.”

What are some of the needs of Philadelphians who work at night?

“A lot of third shift workers, especially those in healthcare, if they don’t pack their lunch and they forget, their options for eating are very limited. So where do they go to get a quality meal before going home? So, access to city services, but also additional support services that those of us that work during the day take for granted.”

PA Day Trips Within 2 Hours of Philly

Sometimes, you just need to get out of Philly and spend time in a different city, or in nature. City Cast Philly podcast host Trenae Nuri speaks with Asha Prihar, Hey Philly newsletter editor, about some of her recent adventures throughout Pennsylvania, so you can plan your own day trip.