— After years of decline, the teen pregnancy rate is on the rise again in the U.S.  WAMU is exploring the impact having a baby has on teen girls in Washington, D.C.  Click here to hear about the experience in their own words.

— Over the weekend, the Prince George’s County school board approved a plan to slash $45 million from the budget.  The cuts mean about 800 employees in the school district will lose their jobs.  Click here for more details.

— Extended unemployment benefits ended yesterday for about 4,000 people in The District.  D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton says Congress will push this week to continue them.  Click here for more details.

— A group of Cardozo High School students and their mentors are hitting the Hill, lobbying members of Congress to support more math and sciences courses for women.  Click here to listen in on one of their meetings.

— A Senator from Kentucky is single-handedly blocking action needed to prevent more than a million Americans from prematurely losing their unemployment benefits next month.  When asked to drop his objection, Senator Jim Bunning replied with some strong language.  Click here for details.

— In spite of record high unemployment in The District, there is one industry that is growing.  However, many D.C. residents aren’t qualified to work in it.  Click here to find out how “Hospitality High” preps students to become part of a growing work force.

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— A lunchtime program at a Maryland high school is allowing young women to “open up and speak their minds.”  Click here to hear what members of Forever Sisters have to say.

— February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.  Because unhealthy relationship behaviors begin at an early age, About.com’s women’s issues blog has listed 10 facts about teen dating violence, as well as articles on how to prevent abuse.  Click here for details.

— New York Avenue NW is about to get a lot more colorful, thanks to a new public art project organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts.  In April, sculptures of three women in colorful bathing suits will be placed in the median.  The artwork is by the late French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle.  Click here for more details about the project.

 

— Advocates for low-income and at-risk children in Virginia are concerned that budget items will disproportionately affect those kids.  The item is a House proposal that redistributes lottery proceeds.  The funds will be distributed by a per-student amount, rather than the current method, which just funds at risk students.  Some school districts would receive more money, while others would see cuts.  The move would save the state $50 million.  Click here for more details.

— The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring 1.2 million temporary workers to help with the census this year, but a majority of the hiring won’t take place until late spring.  The temporary workers will be going to the homes of residents who fail to return a census.  Click here for more.

Artist’s Rendering Credit: Jaroslaw Bieda

— $15.4 million in federal stimulus funds are coming to the D.C. government and two local health-care organizations.  Among other things, the money will be used to train people for careers in health care and health information technology.  Click here to read more.

— A new study has ranked Arlington in the top 10 wealthiest cities in America.  Arlington is number four out of 420 U.S. urban centers.  D.C. is 35 and Silver Spring is 46.  Click here for more details.

— The number of households applying for home heating assistance is at record levels, rising by 15 percent to 8.8 million this year.  The increase in applications comes in spite of the fact that average heating costs are declining, indicating that families are being affected by prolonged unemployment.  Click here to read more.

— This week, Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill that would make financial literacy a requirement for high school graduation.  While supporters of the bill say that students should know all about credit scores and finance charges before they graduate, some lawmakers are concerned about how to pay for the instruction.  Click here for more details.

 

— Over the weekend, a group of Muslim women protested at the Islamic Center of Washington, where  seven foot walls separate women from the main prayer hall.  D.C. police officers were called in and the women were asked to leave or face the possibility of arrest.  The protestors say they will continue to try to pray in the main hall.  Click here for more information.

— Despite signs of recovery in the economy, experts fear that the “social safety net” is too strained.  The number of long-term unemployed Americans is growing and millions of people are running out of savings and nearing the end of their unemployment benefits.  As The New York Times reports in “The New Poor,” 2.7 million “jobless people will lose their unemployment check before the end of April….”  Click here to read more.

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Photo credit: stuartpilbrow via Creative Commons

— Eviction has become a “particular burden” on low-income black women, according to new research. “Just as incarceration has become typical in the lives of poor black men, eviction has become typical in the lives of poor black women,” said the sociologist who conducted the research.  And evictions often send families further into debt.  To read more, click here.

— Every year, over 2,000 D.C. residents are released from prison.  Now, members of D.C.’s faith community are volunteering to help these former inmates re-enter society. Click here to find out what they’re doing.

— Calvary Women’s Services (which has a program — Calvary Women’s Shelter — that has received funding from The Women’s Foundation) has written an informative blog post called “Everything you need to know about Domestic Abuse in four easy answers.”  For information on what an abusive relationship looks like and what you can do if you’re in one or know someone who is, please click here.

Photo credit: Sally Ryan for The New York Times

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— Prince George’s County Tennis & Education Foundation — a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner — is featured on the official website of the United States Tennis Association in celebration of Black History Month.  Click here to read an article that describes the program and the impact is has on young athletes in Maryland.

 

— According to WAMU, “the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is ending the city’s foster care program.  It’s the first official fallout over the district’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage.”  Click here for more.

— We learned earlier this week that last year’s economic stimulus plan helped add at least 1.6 million jobs.  Despite the good news, a breakdown of the numbers shows an alarming disparity: the unemployment rate for those making $150,000+ is at three percent; it’s at nine percent for those in the middle income bracket; and it’s at 31 percent for those in the bottom 10 percent of income earners.  Click here to read more.

Got a comment?  Post below or join the conversation online at www.Facebook.com/TheWomensFoundation.

— Maryland’s governor is continuing a push to force banks and mortgage companies into mediation before they foreclose on a home.  Governor Martin O’Malley says his push is in response to stories he heard from nonprofit groups that work with homeowners.  Click here for more details.

 

— As the federal government conducts its annual homeless survey, the numbers indicate a rising number of homelessness in rural and suburban America.  The number of women and families seeking help for the first time is also on the rise.  Click here for more details.

— New FBI statistics indicate that the violent crime rate is going down nationwide.  However, based on state anti-violence coalition calls, domestic violence appears to be on the rise.  In D.C., there were 21 domestic violence homicides last year, and in Maryland there were 75.  Women’s eNews takes a look at why the streets may be getting safer, while relationships are not.  Click here to read more.

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— There’s more proof that increasing girls’ sports participation will benefit them later in life.  A new study has found a direct effect on women’s education and employment.  According to the New York Times, the study “found that the changes set in motion by Title IX explained about 20 percent of the increase in women’s education and about 40 percent of the rise in employment for 25-to-34-year-old women.”  Click here for more details.

— The Virginia Senate will vote on a bill to regulate car title lenders in the Commonwealth.  Currently, car title lenders are unregulated in Virginia and many charge more than 300 percent interest and repossess the car if the borrow falls behind on repayment.  Advocates are calling for caps on the amount of interest that can be charged.

— With unemployment in D.C. at an all-time high, District Council member Kwame Brown (D – At-Large) has proposed a bill that would give local businesses incentives for hiring and retaining unemployed D.C. residents.  Click here for details.

— Should women in the U.S. military have more of a role in combat?  An Iraq veteran says the military’s policy to ban women from combat is wrong and unrealistic.  Click here to read her opinion piece in the New York Times.

What do you think?  Has playing sports had a positive impact on your life?  Have you ever used a car title lender?  Should women in the military go into combat alongside men?  Leave a comment below, or join the conversation online at www.Facebook.com/TheWomensFoundation.

Photo credit: Joe Mabel