Photo by volcanojw.

>> Clogwyn and alastor — the words that vaulted Tim Ruiter, a home-schooled 12-year-old from Fairfax County, into tonight’s finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. DCist will have full coverage after the proceedings, so be sure to check back after the Bee ends around 10 p.m.

>> When Loudoun County principals attack: Dominion High School principal delivers 10-day suspensions, three-day substance-abuse classes, and explusion from sports teams to upperclassmen who drank wine at hosting families’ homes while on a school-sponsored trip to France. Says one parent: “A lot of these kids have been stigmatized, and I think it’s totally over the top.” Uh, you think?

>> Discuss: the American Public Transportation Association named Metro boss John Catoe America’s top public transportation manager for 2009.

>> D.C. native Terrence Henry, a food writer at the Atlantic, puts Washington on his “personal” list of great food cities next to Barcelona, San Francisco, and Madrid; in return, City Paper food critic Tim Carman warns that Henry might be getting a teensy bit ahead of himself: “Using Henry’s own formula, D.C. doesn’t measure up, at least not in the street food category.”

>> The $100,000 bonus recieved by Giant Food on Alabama Avenue SE for selling last month’s winning Powerball ticket will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank, who will use the money to build a new distribution center.