Metro is celebrating National Dump the Pump Day, which is this Thursday, June 19, by giving away one $100 SmartTrip card to the lucky person who can guess how many people will use the Metrorail system that day. If you've got a guess, you can submit your number on Metro's web site. Entries must be submitted before midnight on June 19. They've got a a handy chart posted if you're completely in the dark......

Don't forget about DCist and Cultural Tourism DC's photo contest for this weekend's WalkingTown DC. All you have to do to enter the photo contest is check out the schedule of free tours being offered on Saturday and Sunday and pick one or more to attend, take some great photos, and then upload them to Flickr and tag them with WalkingTown and DCist. More details on the contest, which last fall earned several lucky winners......

DCist is once again teaming up with Cultural Tourism DC to sponsor a Flickr photo contest for their twice yearly WalkingTown DC event. This year's spring WalkingTown will be held on April 26 and 27, and will feature even more fantastic free walking tours of D.C. than ever before. All you have to do to enter the photo contest is check out the schedule of free tours and pick one or more to attend, take......

This time we're doing Overheard in D.C. a little differently — as a contest. One of this week's crop of overheards almost requires a follow-up, so give us your best guess in the comments as to what the kid did before, and the winner will be mentioned on next week's Overheard. It's not exactly a free pony, but hey, you can forward it to your pals and be the envy of your office. Quote......

Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP won yesterday’s City of the Future design challenge to imagine what Washington would look like in the year 2108. The winning team went green, envisioning a self-sustaining city with soaring towers built on the sites of former forts that once defended Washington, transforming them into centers for wind and solar energy production, hydroponic farming and defensive security systems. In this environmentally friendly city, cars have no place. Metro......

What will Washington look like in 100 years? Will the White House of 2108 be heated by pocket-sized cold fusion reactors? Will Potomac tidal currents light the Capitol? Or will the entire city be underwater, forcing the creation of a virtual capital to run our nation's government? A design competition tomorrow at Union Station – City of the Future: A Design and Engineering Challenge – poses these questions. Eight design teams, most from the......

Remember the HGTV Change the World, Start at Home contest we told you about last month? Anacostia was one of ten needy neighborhoods in the United States identified by the cable channel that was eligible to win a "neighborhood revitalization" package if it received enough votes online -- and Anacostia has won! Anacostia will be the beneficiary of three specific revitalization projects: Homes on S Street: HGTV, Rebuilding Together and the National Trust for Historic......

We've mentioned it briefly before, but it's worth reminding everyone that a D.C. neighborhood is in contention to win a makeover from HGTV, and a lot of local bloggers are asking you to cast your vote to help make it happen. In partnership with Rebuilding Together, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, HGTV's Change the World, Start at Home contest has identified D.C.'s Anacostia as one of ten needy......

The Air Force Memorial has a certain architectural elegance that makes it almost hard not to photograph well, but some certainly stand far above the others, and we especially like Flickr user mosely.brian's crisp version here. Did you miss our announcement on Wednesday? The DCist Exposed Photography Show contest is open and accepting entries for our 2008 exhibition. Not only might you get to show your original work on a real gallery wall at......

Last year we were blown away by how many folks participated in our very first DCist Exposed Photography Show. What we hoped would be a fun event for our faithful photography contributors turned into a full-blown gallery event packed to the gills with supporters. Many of the selected 2007 photographers -- most of whom had never even framed their work prior to the show -- have continued to sell their prints and some even......

Have you followed Eddie Argos' instructions and formed a band? Have you been looking, but just not finding, the perfect way to celebrate Hannukah this year? Are you free on December 8? The Eight, a concert presented by JDub Records, and Taglit-birthright Israel, is a worldwide Hannukah party happening simultaneously in 9 cities: D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Rio and Moscow. JDub, home to bands such as Balkan Beat Box,......

Word of mouth is considered an important marketing tool these days; call it what you will, but it's still a great way to hear about new music, movies, TV, whatever. Usually the best way to find the good stuff is to talk to somebody whose opinions you respect, but sometimes just random folks can tell you about neat new stuff — some person at a party, a friend of a friend, or whoever. And sometimes......

Seeing A Tuna Christmas is like going home for the holidays. Not because my family clan is anything like the wacky clan of characters who make up Tuna, the third smallest town in Texas. But because the sense of humor, silly and pun-tastic, is exactly like my Dad's. And while I can't say it isn't amusing, it's kind of nice that I only really have to deal with it for extended periods of time when......

FRIDAY: >> Local comic book store Fantom Comics is celebrating the grand opening of their new Union Station store tonight with a party from 6 to 10:30 p.m. They'll be serving up free pizza on the early side and the comedy stylings of the Geek Comedy Tour during the second half of the night. There will also be a trivia contest with $500 gift certificates up for grabs. The party is inside the Union......

We're pleased to congratulate the winners of the first ever WalkingTown DC Photo Contest, sponsored by DCist and Cultural Tourism DC. On September 29, the staff behind the twice yearly free walking tour weekends challenged local photographers to come out to their event and snap photos that best captured the spirit of WalkingTown, and then judged the entries to pick their top three. First place winner: David Pike won for his "walk on" shot......

The Associated Press is reporting, via the Examiner, that a Department of Homeland Security employee has been placed on leave after wearing a Halloween costume that was racially insensitive - even though it won "most original" in the agency costume contest. Deciding what costume to wear for Halloween can be tricky enough, but deciding what to wear to an office Halloween costume party in D.C. is tough business. You certainly wouldn't want to wear the......

Got your pumpkins carved yet? Flickr user erin*carly helped make this incredible Orange Line pumpkin with some serious design, and won second place it what must surely have been an interesting carving contest. Our other readers may not be going for architecture awards, but their pumpkins are pretty spooky nonetheless. Add your gourd to the DCist pool and tag it with "pumpkin" to show us.......

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) has decided not to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) next year. The Post is reporting that Davis will announce formally on Thursday what his plans are, but sources have indicated that he won't look to take on a number of potential Republican contenders or former Governor Mark Warner for the seat. Davis reportedly doesn't want his run to overshadow a tough re-election contest faced by......

At first, it looked like a laugher in progress. It ended as a nailbiter. In a slogging game punctuated by missteps and flukes, the Washington Redskins escaped with a win at home against the Arizona Cardinals. How'd Washington pull out the win? On balance, they just reaped slightly larger benefits from the errors, but credit some missed kicks and the strangest two-point conversion call I've ever seen for the victory. By and large, scoring opportunities......

Many of you have already visited the "Solar Village" since it opened its gates last Friday on the National Mall. Last weekend the long lines literally wrapped around each house entered into the 2007 Solar Decathlon, with people eager to get a tour from the students, alumni and faculty from each university competitor. The ten competitions have been judged all week, from Architecture last week to Engineering today, with individual winners announced for each leg......

Written by DCist contributor Brett Gellman The Maryland Terrapins (4-2, 1-1) take on the 19th ranked Virginia Cavaliers (6-1, 3-0) in a nationally televised homecoming contest tomorrow night at College Park in what is shaping up to be the best ACC matchup of the entire day, and yes, that includes Miami-FSU. The Terps, who are coming off a much-needed bye week, squeaked out a 28-26 victory against Georgia Tech two weeks ago after Travis Bell’s......

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice......

We'd like to take a brief moment to thank this week's advertisers on DCist. AMEX Urban Adventures, because there's shopping, dining, and entertainment destinations to be discovered. Look Me in the Eye, by Augusten Burroughs' older brother. DC Vote, which has its Champions of Democracy event on October 23rd. Busted Tees, where they have some shirts on sale for $9.99! The Heartbreak Kid, which has a special contest for DCist readers. You can win a......

When it comes to who the D.C. Republican Party should side with in the 2008 presidential contest, the choice is obvious -- Mike Huckabee. Sure, the former governor of Arkansas doesn't have much of a chance of winning, but he's been consistent in his support of D.C. voting rights. In yesterday's All-American Presidential Forum on PBS, hosted by Tavis Smiley, it was Huckabee who backed voting rights for the District's 600,000 residents. In response to......

FRIDAY: >> Howard University alum Eric Roberson performs tonight at the Black Cat along with Emily King. Doors open at 9 p.m. $17. >> It's pretty much the end of times: Vanilla Ice will be at Foggy Bottom bar McFadden's tonight, "drinking, partying, and hosting the night" starting at 10 p.m. $5 Jager bombs and $2 Bud and Bud Light bottles are little enticement to make this event anything more than laughable, but maybe if......

We wanted to remind you about this weekend's upcoming photo contest sponsored by DCist and non-profit Cultural Tourism DC as part of the semi-annual WalkingTown DC event. On Sept. 29, photographers are encouraged to attend any of the free walking tours on offer as part of WalkingTown DC, and enter their photos to win great prizes. Details and rules below, and also feel free to sign up for the unofficial Flickr group. Here's the deal:......

As if we needed another study to tell us D.C. area traffic is awful and getting worse -- a report released yesterday has pushed us into a solid three-way tie for second place in the contest for the Worst Traffic in the Nation award. So congrats, D.C. You are tied with drivers in Atlanta and the Bay Area as you burn time inching along I-395 in your car. Only Los Angeles can boast more......

Do you have the option of taking public transportation or riding a bike to work, but still choose to drive for personal reasons? The D.C. Council is asking people like you to pledge to give up your car for just one day tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 18, for its first annual Car Free D.C. Day. If you'd like to take the Car Free Pledge, head over to Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells' site to sign......

DCist is once again an official media sponsor of the free walking tours offered twice a year by non-profit Cultural Tourism DC. This time around, WalkingTown DC, a day-long event scheduled for Sept. 29, is teaming up with us to sponsor a photo contest to encourage people to come out to the free tours and snap photos as you explore new neighborhoods. Here's the deal: * Attend any WalkingTown DC tour on Sept. 29 and......

By special contributor Brett Gellman of The Upstate Life This Thursday's nationally televised contest, in which the West Virginia Mountaineers will visit the Maryland Terrapins in College Park, will be the last time these border state rivals meet until 2010. Not only are bragging rights on the line, but the Mountaineers' national title hopes are also at stake. Both schools will be playing their hardest opponent thus far and both stand undefeated at 2-0. Both......