— The number of new AIDS cases and AIDS-related deaths have dropped in D.C. for the first time in years.  Despite the decrease, the infection rate remains high with more than three percent of District residents older than 12 living with HIV or AIDS.  D.C. Appleseed — a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner — is mentioned in the article.  Click here to read more.

— Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat, interim co-president and vice president of programs for The Women’s Foundation, and Nicole Cozier, The Women’s Foundation’s philanthropic education officer, were interviewed by Philanthropy Journal for an article about insuring nonprofits against the recession.  They talked about The Women’s Foundation’s efforts to help Prince George’s Child Resource Center conduct a risk assessment and remain productive during the economic downturn.  Click here to read more.

— As Mautner Project: The National Lesbian Health Organization — a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner — celebrates turning 20, Metro Weekly sits down with Executive Director Leslie Calman to learn more about Mautner and find out how Leslie got involved.  Click here to read the interview.

— A group of young adults in Montgomery County is taking on teen pregnancy in the Latino community.  Their public service announcements will be featured on the Spanish-language network Univision.  To find out what message they’re spreading, click here.

Got something to say?  Please leave a comment below.  Or join the conversation at www.Facebook.com/TheWomensFoundation.

— As the impact of the recession continues to be felt, local nonprofits are seeing a growing number of employers skipping out on workers’ wages.  Immigrants in construction, restaurant and janitorial work are most often underpaid.  Casa of Maryland (a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner) says even well-intentioned employers aren’t paying up when their construction projects run out of money.  The D.C. Employment Justice Center — another Grantee Partner — is currently representing dozens of workers who say they’re owed money.  Click here to read more.

— A new report from D.C. Hunger Solutions (a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner) and Social Compact notes disturbing trends when it comes to district residents and access to grocery stores.  When Healthy Food is Out of Reach found a significant grocery gap that leaves many neighborhoods without access to full-service grocers and healthy food options.  For example, Ward 3 has a grocery store for every 7,300 people, while Ward 8 — the ward with the lowest average income — has one grocery store for every 23,000 people.  The report also says that half of local grocery stores do not accept WIC vouchers.

Got something to say?  Leave a comment below, or join the conversation at www.Facebook.com/TheWomensFoundation.

— New HIV infections are on the rise among gays, drug users and prostitutes according to the U.N. AIDS agency.  The increase is being seen worldwide.  In the United States, there’s been a fast rise in new infections in people between the ages of 19 and 25.  A U.N. official said not having information, access to protection and complacency are all to blame.  Click here for more details.

— Last night, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty promised a crowd of people that the city will spend $10 – 20 million training unemployed residents to weatherize homes.  The city plans to hire the trainees for home weatherization projects, but so far no details about the training or hiring have been revealed.  Click here for more details.

— Maryland has fallen further behind when it comes to food stamp delivery.  In December, a judge ordered the state to catch up with a backlog of food stamp requests, but an increase in applications at the end of the year put the state even further behind.  The law requires that food stamp benefits be sent within 30 days of a request.  Click here for more information.

— Starting today, the D.C. Department of Human Services will expand eligibility for Food Stamp benefits.  With the change, District residents with a gross income up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level qualify for benefits.  That means a couple may have up to $2,429 in gross income to be eligible.  A four person family can have up to $3,675 of monthly gross income.  For more details, please click here.

— A Home Rescue Fair in Manassas this afternoon will target Latino families facing foreclosure.  The fair was organized after a report revealed that more than one million Latino families will lose their homes by 2012.  The fair is open to anyone in the D.C. area, and Spanish-speaking translators will be there.  It starts at 4pm.  For more details, click here.

— A story in the Washington Post about a woman being named head coach of a local high school football team drew lots of criticism from online commenters.  In this column, Petula Dvorak wonders why people think it’s such a big deal.

— In a first-of-its-kind effort, Washington, D.C. will give away half-a-million female condoms.  City leaders hope the effort will combat the city’s HIV/AIDS epidemic.  In addition to free condoms, providers will also teach women how to use them.  Click here for more details.

— Today is National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.  To raise awareness and offer suggestions for prevention strategies, The Women’s Foundation’s Gwen Rubinstein wrote a blog post about the topic.  You can read what she has to say by clicking here.

— As Virginia’s legislative session comes to a close, some are concerned that too much has been cut from the state budget, and that local governments and private charities are going to have to step up to fill some serious gaps.  Some opponents to the budget cuts say the state’s poorest areas, particularly preschool programs in urban communities, will get hit hardest.  Click here for more details.

— In honor of National Women’s History Month, President Obama has issued a proclamation calling for balancing out gender inequalities in government representation, earnings, and science and engineering jobs, in particular.  You can read the entire proclamation by clicking here.

— Today is International Women’s Day — a day to celebrate the accomplishments of women all over the world.  In honor of the occasion, Huffington Post has profiled 11 women who are the voices of positive change.  Click here to see the list.  Who would you add to the list?  Comment below or go to www.Facebook.com/TheWomensFoundation.

— With more than five million American households behind in their mortgages right now, the Obama Administration is taking drastic measures to get homeowners out of their homes with a little extra cash in their pockets.  A new program will pay homeowners to short sell their houses at a loss.  Click here for details of the program.

— The effects of the recession are showing up in the field of candidates for this year’s census jobs.  During the last census, most of the temporary workers were retirees.  This time, however, the workers are more likely to be younger professionals who have been laid off.  According to the Washington Post, the Census Bureau will eventually hire about 4,500 people in The District, 19,000 in Maryland and 22,000 in Virginia.  Workers will make about $20/hour.  Click here for more information.

— A new study out today says Montgomery County renters are being priced out of their homes.  Tenants’ advocates are calling for rent control, but opponents say that will discourage apartment builders.  Click here for more details on both sides of the issue.

— Legislation that would impose more regulations on car title lenders in Virginia has advanced to the House with some changes to the bill.  The changes would allow lenders to continue to charge borrowers who try to hide their vehicle while they’re in default.  Currently, the industry is unregulated.  Some lenders charge more than 300 percent interest.  Click here for more information.

— The Washington Post editorial board is calling for the Maryland General Assembly to pass laws that would change the standard of proof needed to grant final protective orders.  If the laws are passed, the current standard of “clear and convincing evidence” would be replaced by “a preponderance of the evidence.”  The editorial says it’s unlikely that the General Assembly will pass the laws but hopes “that lawmakers wake up to the reality that their refusal to put in place common-sense safeguards endangers lives and makes Maryland a national disgrace.”  Click here for the full editorial.

— The federal government says it will start producing an experimental measurement of poverty next year.  This will be a step toward the first overhaul of the formula since it was developed about 50 years ago.  Click here to read more about how the new measure for poverty will be calculated.

— Residents in D.C.’s Ward 5 are frustrated that one of their neighborhood’s only grocery stores is closing this weekend.  They say the Safeway in the Rhode Island Shopping Center in Northeast is the only store within walking distance of the Edgewood and Brentwood communities.  They’re especially concerned about the senior citizens in the area.  Safeway says this store hasn’t made a profit in about a decade.  Click here for more details.

— The number of D.C. teenagers having babies has significantly increased over the past few years.  Many of the young parents are unable to balance the challenges of having babies and completing school work, so they drop out.  WAMU wraps up its series on teen pregnancy by looking at what local schools are doing to encourage these students to complete their educations.  Click here to listen.

— Maryland’s governor is calling for more training efforts to prepare residents to meet an expected surge in “middle-skill jobs.”  According to a new study, by 2016, the state will gain more than 430,000 jobs that require certification beyond a high school diploma, but don’t require a bachelor’s degree.  Only 37 percent of Maryland’s workforce currently has the credentials to fill middle-skill jobs.  Click here for more details.

— D.C.’s Department of Employment Services is now accepting applications for the Summer Youth Employment Program.  For details, including registration information, click here.

— Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement went to the General Assembly to ask for more state funding for dental care for low-income adults.  Virginia is one of a few states where the only dental care Medicaid covers is emergency care.  Click here to read more.

Got something to say?  Leave a comment below, or join the conversation at www.Facebook.com/TheWomensFoundation

— Some local parents and child care providers are still feeling the effects of last month’s snowstorms.  Some parents say they weren’t paid during the snowstorms and can’t afford tuition, while others say they shouldn’t have to pay for the days they were forced to keep their kids at home.  Child care centers, however, say they need that money to continue to operate.  Click here for the Washington Post’s story on the struggles of both sides.

— Maryland and 15 other states want to make it illegal for employers to run credit checks on potential employees.  Maryland lawmakers say a job-seeker’s credit score has no bearing on that person’s ability to do the job.  Click here for details.

— Over the weekend, homeless teens from a D.C. shelter went on a tour of the White House, bowled on the president’s lanes and had lunch at a nearby restaurant.  Click here to read the details of their experience and why they say they can relate to President Obama.