Regional Briefing

At the agency's regional office in the District, about 300 veterans waited at noon Friday in chairs and on the floor for a chance to apply for and receive the checks, which were announced a week ago by VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki.

"I've been stressing," said Gabriel Albanes, 23, who deployed twice to Iraq as a Marine and is now a student at Northern Virginia Community College. "I gotta pay rent next month, and I have a part-time job but it's not going to cover it."

At most of the agency's regional offices, veterans were able to get their checks in 15 to 20 minutes, agency officials said. But in the District, some who had traveled from as far away as Virginia Beach waited more than four hours.

"I'm not real happy that veterans have been waiting so long here," said Deputy Undersecretary Michael Walcoff, who toured the waiting area.

-- Emma Brown

THE DISTRICT

Domestic Violence Legal Assistance

A District nonprofit organization will provide emergency legal help to victims of domestic violence, taking on one of the roles of a nonprofit group that almost shut down because of financial problems, the leader of Survivors and Advocates for Empowerment announced Friday.

SAFE will hire the six staff members of WEAVE, Women Empowered Against Violence.

Last month, WEAVE board members voted to begin closing after public and private funding dropped in the recession.

The District's Office of Victim Services, the D.C. Superior Court, SAFE and others collaborated to ensure that the women seeking emergency legal protection at an intake center would not be left without help, said Elisabeth Olds, SAFE's co-executive director.

-- Susan Kinzie