Culinary Competition: At last, more Washington-centric TV! Husband-and-wife team Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff-Grey, who operate the restaurants Equinox and Watershed, are attempting to make a Project Runway-style show for restaurant designers. +1

Dog Eat Dog: Low interest rates mean Washington’s housing market is getting so tight, one couple won the opportunity to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a house only by agreeing to take the seller’s dog. -3

Pies for Wise Guys: Massachusetts Avenue’s upcoming Wiseguy NY Pizza is looking for 100 native New Yorkers or “NY Pizza Experts” to try out their pizza. The grand prize is a wood-fired pizza oven. +1

Job Muddle: D.C., Virginia, and Maryland businesses all added jobs over the past 12 months, but a new survey says fewer companies in the area have hiring plans for the second half of 2012 than did in the first half. 0

Friday’s Needle rating: 76 Today’s score: -1 Today’s Needle rating: 75