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NOTE: This newsletter will be on hiatus from Aug. 25-31 as members of our team take well-deserved vacations. We’ll be back after that, refreshed and better than ever. Thanks for understanding.

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A whole new neighborhood is rising on the Delaware waterfront

Houses are popping up fast at the massive Northbank development on the Delaware River waterfront east of Fishtown, just below Graffiti Pier.

• More than 350 houses are part of the project’s phase one, with 230 sold and many already occupied. Prices start at $500k. Apartments and retail were promised for the site, but those are now slated for phase two.

The fancy boxy rowhomes are arranged in a new riverside street grid, Lizzy McLellan Ravitch reports, but are still kind of cut off from the rest of the city.

Have fun with your food at the Philly Cheese School

Philadelphia is home to plenty of specialty cheese shops, and a new outlet just above the Italian Market will help you figure out what to do with all that fromage.

• The Philadelphia Cheese School is run by monger Julia Birnbaum, who spent years working at Di Bruno Bros. and Murray Cheese. Classes infuse her industry experience with fun and whimsy.

BP contributor Sanjana Friedman has a look at what you’ll find there, including classics like “Cheese Basics” to the less-conventional “Cheese & Gummies.”

RECAP: What else happened?

$ = paywalled

• The Philadelphia School District’s new and much-debated lottery admission system, which gave preference to underserved zip codes, did appear to boost the proportion of Black and Latino first-years at the city’s most selective high schools. [Chalkbeat x 2]
• The PPD, which is already short-staffed by 1,300 officers, is about to see a wave of retirements that could worsen the problem. [Inquirer$]
• Philadelphia Ballet is expanding its space on North Broad with a $34 million construction project that’ll include a new theater and windowed studios. Target completion date: 2024. [Biz Journal$/PhillyVoice]
• The StoopingPHL Instagram highlights the best discarded items on Philly stoops, from vintage dressers to air-conditioning units. [WHYY’s PlanPhilly]
• Get ready for a “weird and wonderful” cooking show starring pizza impresario Joe Beddia. Called “Hey, Joe” it’s a collab with comedian Eric Wareheim. [@scottrossfilm/@pizzacamp]
• The highlight of Philly sports this weekend: Retiring Action News anchor Jim Gardner threw out the first pitch at a Phillies game, and nailed it right down the middle. [BP 2021/6ABC/@JamieApody]

MAYOR WATCH

Last week’s planned briefing on school safety was postponed to today, when Mayor Kenney joins officials from the School District, the PPD, and the Office of Children and Families to go over back-to-school plans (10:30 a.m.). You can watch on Facebook. Evening brings the mayor to the graduation ceremony of Unity in the Community’s Carpentry Academy (7 p.m.).

ON THE CALENDAR