Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers and Mayor Nutter, fresh off his trip to the DNC, offered well wishes tonight to 23 firefighters and EMS workers at the Fire Academy in Northeast Philadelphia.

Ayers said the group -- comprised of 10 paramedics, 10 firefighters, one battalion chief and two mechanics -- are headed to Louisiana along with 12 other "strike force" teams from Pennsylvania to help out ahead of Hurricane Gustav.

"We were down there before, when Hurricane Katrina hit," Ayers said. "Now it's almost three years to the day when that happened, and it hits you that, wow, this could be happening again. So we want to help out however we can." Ayers said the team will visit New Orleans and many other towns and cities across Louisiana.

Good luck to all involved.

Busy night, folks, so I only have a little to post on this right now.

Basically, a 78-year-old man and two of his pals were hanging out tonight on the porch of a VFW post on 33rd Street near Fontain.  Homicide investigators said two or three young men barged onto the porch at about 6:10 p.m.

It's not clear if they demanded money or anything else, but one of the punks shot the elderly man under the left cheek. He died at Temple University Hospital. Investigators have yet to make contact with the victim's family, so his name is being withheld. The suspects remain on the loose.

City Councilman Darrell L. Clarke was the victim of an apparent hate crime, police and Clarke just told Philly Confidential.

Clarke said he walked outside his house this morning and found Nazi symbols and the letters "KKK" spray-painted on his car, a vehicle belonging to a relative of one of his staffers and another local resident's car.  Crime Scene Unit investigators are currently dusting his car for prints while detectives try to determine what motivated the incident.

"Some idiot decided for whatever reason they needed to paint a swastika and 'KKK' all over my car," Clarke said. "I couldn't believe it."

Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said investigators "are treating this as a hate crime. It's disgusting and we're trying to get to the bottom of who is behind it."

Check back here later for more on this developing story.

Kudos to the following Philly police officers who've been promoted to the rank of detectives: 

1. Det. Anthony Anderson,  19th District
2. Det. Richard Antonini, 3rd District
3. Det. Megan Bolognone, 14th District
4. Det. Van Buren Brown, 12th District
5. Det. Tanisha Bryant-King, 5th District
6. Det. Justin Carlton, 25th District
7. Det. Thomas Demalto, SWAT
8. Det. Dennis Dusak, 24th District
9. Det. Joseph Dydak, 2nd District
10. Det. Patricia Eberhart, 26th District
11. Det. Edward Enriquez, SVU
12. Det. John Frei, 17th District
13. Det. Laura Hammond, SVU
14. Det. Robert Hennessy, 7th District
15. Det. Steven Jefferson, Narcotics
16. Det. Constance Lassiter, Northwest Detectives
17. Det. Denise Murray, 7th District
18. Det. Ismael Navarreto, Safety Office
19. Det. Erica Ortiz-Griffin, 17th District
20. Det. Edward Pendleton, Impound Lot
21. Det. James Poulos, 39th District
22. Det. Timothy Quinn, 1st District
23. Det. Michael Rocks, 23rd District
24. Det. Francis Sheridan, Major Crimes
25. Det. Angela Torian, 5th District 

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey will make the announcement at a formal ceremony tomorrow at Temple's Tomlinson Theater, 13th and Norris streets at 10 a.m.

Below is an excerpt of a story we're working on about a local jeweler who now finds himself in quite the legal bind:

On his cheerful Web site, Ben Sorkin describes himself as a jeweler and “chief optimist.”
But according to police, the longtime Jeweler’s Row shop owner might want to add another title to his list: peeping tom.

The 52-year-old was charged Wednesday with three counts of invasion of privacy after investigators concluded Sorkin had used a hidden camera to videotape three female employees in the bathroom of his store, Ben Sorkin Jewelers, on Sansom Street near 7th.

The employees, whose names were not released, contacted police on April 25 after they discovered the camera and found a VHS tape that featured them repeatedly using the bathroom, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.
Detectives from the police Special Victims Unit immediately confiscated the camera and tapes from Sorkin’s store and also searched his house on Laramie Road near Cliffwood in Bustleton.

Vanore said the investigators found additional video equipment and tapes of “several unidentified young women” using the bathroom in Sorkin’s house.

A 15th District police officer suffered minor injuries when he was involved in a car crash near Frankford and Cottman avenues in Northeast Philly about an hour ago.

Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said the unidentified officer was responding to an officer assist call when his cruiser collided with another car. The officer, who complained of pain in his side, was taken to Jeanes Hospital for observation. No other injuries were reported.

Officer Christoper Simone, meanwhile, was still listed tonight in critical but stable condition at Hahnemann University Hospital from the injuries he sustained in a brutal car wreck yesterday morning. Simone, a 12-year veteran, was also responding to an assist call when police officials said another motorist smashed into his cruiser at Broad and Spring Garden streets at about 1 a.m. Simone suffered head trauma, broken ribs and a broken leg and was put in a medically induced coma. The female driver of the other car, who has not been identified, was upgraded to stable condition earlier today, police said.

Officer Christopher Simone is still in a medically induced coma after being involved in a nasty car wreck earlier today. Simone, a 12-year veteran, was rushing to Hahnemann University Hospital shortly after 1 a.m. this morning when another car crashed into his cruiser at Broad and Spring Garden, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.

"He had his lights and sirens on. It appears the other driver, who was going west bound on Spring Garden, just didn't see him," Vanore said. Simone, who was on his way to Hahnemann to help officers struggling with an unruly emergency room patient, suffered head trauma, broken ribs and a broken leg. The unidentified driver of the other vehicle was also listed in critical condition.

David Maialetti / Philadelphia Daily News

Jimmy Binns -- local attorney, actor, plaque dedicator and all around man-for-all-seasons -- turned quite a few heads earlier today when he appeared at a kick-off rally for the 3rd Annual Hero Thrill Show dressed as a Highway Patrol cop.

Daily News photographer Dave Maialetti snapped a few pics of Binns -- sporting a helmet and sidearm -- riding around City Hall with real Highway Patrol officers. My editors peppered me with a host of questions: Was that a real gun? Is he allowed to dress like a cop? How come the cops never let you ride a motorcycle?

The short answer goes something like this: Binns was made an "honorary deputy commissioner" by former commish Sylvester Johnson. He's the driving force behind the frequent plaque dedications for fallen cops and firefighters and has donated quite a few shiny new cycles to the police department over the years. "He's does a lot for us," a police source said, "but I'm not sure who told him to dress up."

If nothing else, the afternoon ride along generated a bit of attention for the Thrill Show, which will be held Sept. 6 outside the Wachovia Center.