In today’s rundown: Changes take place in Virginia that offer more protection to domestic violence survivors.  Two low-income families in D.C. will receive a one-of-a-kind, energy efficient home.  Why black stroke victims may be missing out on life-saving treatments.

— Starting today, survivors of intimate partner violence in Virginia will be able to file for protective orders in General District Court, reports Beyond the Doorway, the blog of our Grantee Partner Doorways for Women and Families.  Prior to today, victims who were not family or household members were unable to file for protective orders.

— Competitors in the upcoming solar decathlon on the National Mall will be donating a “passive house” to two low-income families in D.C., according to TBD.com. The “super-insulated,” air-tight home will consume 90 percent less energy for heating and cooling than a typical house.

— TBD.com also reports that “in the District, black stroke victims are one-third as likely as whites to get timely live-saving [sic] treatments.  But… the problem isn’t racial bias, necessarily.  It’s all a function of time.”

In today’s rundown: It’s National HIV Testing Day.  A youth town hall meeting on HIV/AIDS.  And tens of thousands of local teens remain out of work this summer.

— Today is National HIV Testing Day and The Washington Post has information on where you can go to get tested.

— The Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL) — a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner — and Metro TeenAIDS are holding a youth town hall meeting on Thursday to discuss needs and concerns that will be addressed at next year’s AIDS 2012 International Conference, which is being held in D.C.

— Caroline Jones, the new executive director of Doorways for Women and Families (a Foundation Grantee Partner), talked to The Washington Post about her leadership style and how she found a place in the nonprofit world.

— Many young people in the District started working today through the D.C. summer jobs program, but thousands are out of work due to cuts to the program.  ABC7 reports that there was a 45 percent drop in the number of jobs available this year.

In today’s rundown: A program that kept families from becoming homeless runs out of funding.  Looking at women’s poverty from several angles.  And why we can’t forget homeless women in the HIV/AIDS fight in D.C.

— Housing Counseling Services, a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner, has stopped taking applications for the District-funded Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP).  Designed to prevent and resolve homelessness by providing financial assistance to eligible households, HCS is “virtually out of ERAP funds.”  This “will likely result in increased and prolonged homeslessness for District households.”  HSC recommends that families in need check in with the Homeless Prevention Hotline at (202)667-7339 in case HSC is awarded additional ERAP funds.  HSC will continue to offer housing counseling, workshops and technical assistance.

— The poverty rate for single mothers is exceptionally high, even when food stamps and earned income tax credits are counted, according to The Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund.

— “Don’t forget D.C.’s homeless women in the HIV/AIDS fight,” writes the executive directors of N Street Village and Miriam’s House in a letter to the editor in The Washington Post. They write that homeless women in the region at 150 percent more likely to have HIV/AIDS than the rest of the population.

In today’s rundown: A new program targets Alexandria children who are at risk of going hungry during the summer.  The great divide in D.C. isn’t about race; it’s about class.  And District residents say HIV/AIDS is the city’s biggest health issue.

— Thousands of children are at risk of malnourishment in Alexandria this summer, reports the Gazette. According to the paper there are 6,000 students in Alexandria who meet federal poverty guidelines.  Many receive meals at school, but with classes out for summer, as many as 2,000 may go hungry.  The Virginia No Kid Hungry campaign allows parents to call 211 to locate summer meal sites in their area.

— Most D.C. residents see socioeconomic class as the biggest divide in the city, according to The Washington Post.

— The Post also reports that District residents see HIV/AIDS as the city’s biggest health problem.  African-Americans are particularly concerned about personally contracting HIV or having a family member contract it.

In today’s rundown: The HIV/AIDS rate in the District remains the highest in the country.  Single mothers are more prone to poor health.  College tuition skyrockets while incomes stagnate, making it more difficult for kids from low and middle-income families to go to college.

— The rate of HIV/AIDS in the District remained high for the third year in a row, reports The Washington Post, although there has been a decline in new cases.  The report cited by the Post also found that two-thirds of all diagnoses of chlamydia and gonorrhea were among residents under the age of 24.

— Single mothers suffer have more health risks, according to The New York Times. The paper cites a report that found that middle-aged women who were single when they had their first child have more health risks than mothers who were married when they had their first child.  Unmarried women account for 40 percent of births in the United States.

— Low and middle-income families are having a harder time paying for college, says CNN.com. The costs of college continue to rise quickly, which incomes are barely moving.  Tuition and fees at public universities have gone up 130 percent in the past two decades.

In today’s rundown: A closer look at gender and race pay gaps.  Plus, should DC parents who receive welfare benefits be required to attend parent-teacher conferences?

— The pay gaps between men and women and whites and minorities are surprisingly wide, say Georgetown University researchers.  They found pay gaps regardless of education, hours worked or position.  To close the gap, advocates are calling for more anti-discrimination training and oversight from the equal employment opportunity commission, reports TBD.com.

— The chairman of the D.C. Council wants to require parents who receive welfare benefits to go to half of their childrens’ parent-teacher conferences, according to the Washington Examiner. Opponents of the proposed amendment to the city budget say that some schools ask parents NOT to come in if their children are doing well, because conference schedules are so tight.

In today’s rundown: The number of single women-headed households falls in Prince George’s County.  As AIDS turns 30, people under 30, black women and Latinas are more likely to contract HIV.  How obesity impacts a woman’s earning power.

— The number of single mother households in Prince George’s County has fallen by five percent in the past decade, according to the Washington Examiner.

— Most HIV infections are among people under 30, a group that may not fully understand the health threat, reports Women’s eNews. Black women and Hispanic women have particularly high transmission rates.

— Overweight women are significantly less likely to finish college, according to an op-ed in The New York Times. “The economic harm to overweight women is more than a series of personal troubles; it may contribute to the rising disparities between rich and poor….”

In today’s rundown: A new look at the spread of HIV/AIDS in the United States.  Plus, cheap and free summer activities for teens.

— Researchers have created a new map that shows the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the United States, reports TBD.com. The map is being used to show where testing and treatment are needed most.  The site also includes locations where HIV testing is available.

— Summer break is just about here and there are a shrinking number of “cheap and free” activity options for DC teens, says DCentric.  They’ve compiled a list of affordable and free activities that can help keep the kids busy.  Click here for details.

In today’s rundown: A lack of opportunity for DC teens this summer. | A new center for women and children’s nutrition opens in Maryland. | Why one local school is seeing its largest graduating class ever this year. | Five ways hunger is affecting the Latino community.

— “Non profits in Washington, DC are calling it the ‘perfect storm’: Two months where funding for summer classes, a youth jobs program and enrichment activities have been slashed because of the District’s multi-million dollar budget shortfall,” reports WAMU. Beacon House, a Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner, is featured in the story.

— A new center for women and children’s nutrition has opened in Montgomery County, according to the Gazette. Located in Westfield Wheaton, The Women, Infants and Children Services Center has replaced two smaller locations in White Flint and Aspen Hill.

— The Gazette also profiles a school in Prince George’s County that had a 97 percent graduation rate this year.  Friendly High in Fort Washington celebrated its largest graduating class in its history last week.  Raynah Adams, the school’s new principal, implemented initiatives to keep the students academically focused.

— And we’re a little late on this one, but DCentric takes a look at five ways hunger affects the local Latino community.

In today’s rundown: How DC residents respond to questions about sexual orientation. | What do women over 50 fear most? | Why fewer women run for office in Virginia. | Marital messiness keeps some couples from higher political office.

— The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance breaks down the numbers from the DC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2008 Annual Health Report and found that “females (81%) were more likely than males (78%) to be heterosexual and bisexual (2% versus 1% respectively); however, males (8%) were more like than females (2%) to be homosexual.”

— Women over 50’s worst fear is economic insecurity, writes Barbara Hannah Grufferman in Huffington Post.

— More men than women continue to seek more state legislative positions in Virginia, according to an op-ed in The Daily Progress (via TBD.com).  Virginia has a lower rate of women in office than the rest of the country.

— And The Washington Post explores what’s expected of the wives of male presidential hopefuls.