Reader

Do you have stories you would like to share with other readers, tales from long ago or the present? The kind of anecdote you would normally tell a family member, friend or neighbor? We would like to see them and print the best on our local Commentary pages. Please send essays of 300 words or less to: Mysteries, Surprises and Delights c/o Metro Commentary Editor The Philadelphia Inquirer Box 41705 Philadelphia 19101, or E-mail metro@phillynews.com.

JUST-RELEASED figures indicate that the circulation numbers of a considerable majority of American newspapers continue in a consistent slide, a phenomenon which I greatly lament. Although the technical quality of most newspapers has declined over the years, and the price of subscriptions has been hiked, quite sharply in some instances, I don't believe these are the reasons for diminished interest in our old reliable standard to obtain news. The newspaper is something I look forward to each day. It enables me to be knowledgeable and conversant on local, national and international issues; this is why I read three papers every day plus two weeklies.

Last spring, a listener writing to Recorded Books suggested that the company do James Joyce's Ulysses. In a humorous, Joyce-in-cheek response, the company noted: " . . . there's no doubt its a great book poetic too but the thing is 768 pages long thats about 26 cassettes and the other problem is where would we find a reader who could hold her breath for an hour or so while she reads Molly's soliloquy its 45 and a half pages long divided into...

Alan Baldwin, of Philadelphia, is the winner of the Daily News' Phillies Clincher Contest. Baldwin was randomly chosen from among those who selected Sept. 17 as the date for the Phillies to clinch their fifth consecutive National League East title. Baldwin will receiver a commemorative Daily News front page from a historic Phillies moment; the chance to put his own headline on a keepsake Daily News front page; and lunch with a member of the DN sports staff.

Even though many people have never heard of it, the largest cooking magazine in North America is Taste of Home. So notes Catherine Cassidy, senior vice president of Reiman publications, based in Greendale, Wis. With a circulation of 3.4 million, "We're bigger than the top three [food magazines] together," said Cassidy, also editor in chief of the magazine, launched in 1993. Cassidy oversees four cooking-related bi-monthlies - Taste of Home, Simple & Delicious, Light & Tasty and Cooking for 2. All are reader-driven - and contain reader-submitted editorial, including stories, recipes and memories.

An alert Daily News reader helped cops nab a fugitive wanted in an attempted rape and sexual assault, authorities said yesterday. Darnell Coleman, 22, whose photo was displayed in the People Paper's "Week's Most Wanted" feature on May 10, was captured Wednesday afternoon on the roof of a relative's home in West Philadelphia, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Coleman, whose last known address was on 20th Street near McKean in South Philadelphia, was wanted in connection with an attempted rape and sexual assault on Jan. 29, police said.

Evelyn O. Shane, 93, died Friday at the Philadelphia Geriatric Center. Mrs. Shane, a graduate of Philadelphia High School for Girls, sold war bonds during World War II as a member of the Navy League Service. In March 1944, she earned the honorary title of "general" for selling 2,561 bonds, then a state record. After her husband, Hyman, a Philadelphia attorney, died in 1956, she became active in several causes, including the auxiliaries of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center and Hahnemann University Hospital, Hadassah, the Pennsylvania Council for the Blind and the Overbrook School for the Blind.

COLUMNIST Will Bunch is constantly trying to tie (usually violent) historical events to the modern-day political debate. That is fine, but Bunch always uses these events, such as the tragedy at Kent State, to attack those with whom he disagrees politically. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell wrote a memorandum that convinced corporate America that the free-enterprise system was being negatively portrayed on America's college campuses. That is all Kent State and the Powell memo have in common; they both involve higher education, to a degree.

Beginning Monday, Small Business will once again have its own standalone section. Look forward to more compelling articles by Diane Mastrull about the region's innovators and entrepreneurs, more insights from columnist Mike Armstrong , and more of our popular features People in the News and On the Boards . In addition, the section will include the Monday comics, puzzles, and TV listings.

Beginning Monday, Small Business will once again have its own standalone section. Look forward to more compelling articles by Diane Mastrull about the region's innovators and entrepreneurs, more insights from columnist Mike Armstrong , and more of our popular features People in the News and On the Boards . In addition, the section will include the Monday comics, puzzles, and TV listings.

I get the impression that there are a lot of untrustworthy cats in this country from the number of remedies submitted to me on combating urine odors. Here's a step-by-step from reader Ed Zoller in Jacksonville, Fla.: If the area is carpeted, Remove the carpet and padding. Clean the area by scrubbing with a stiff bristle brush and a solution heavy with Pine-Sol or Lysol. Don't use ammonia-based cleaners; ammonia will intensify the odor and might even attract the cat for a return.

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat of April 23, 2013: Craig LaBan: There's a new cafe in the sunny, modern space at the corner of 12th and Spruce: Toast. It's the house-made English muffins, pictured here, that are the draw. These were almost too good - so perfect they looked just like very good versions of store-bought muffins, but more tender, with toothsome, butter-soaked crannies. Also, I've been enjoying some recent visits to Citizens Bank Park.