ONCE AGAIN, I OPEN UP my copy of Washington City Paper to find no “News Bites” column. What happened to Jack Shafer? How can I continue to wade through the Washington Post and the Washington Times without Jack to clue me in on the backstabbing behind the newsprint? I would gladly trade the page space now occupied by “Breaking Balls” or one of Mark Jenkins’ music reviews to get Jack back.

City Paper gives a bigger bang for the buck than any publication you’d have to pay for, but I still miss Shafer.

Frederick, Md. via America Online