Affordable housing means financial incentives, experts tell MontCo (Washington Examiner): “Yet 44 percent of renters in the county spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, said Michael Bodaken, president of the National Housing Trust. A minimum-wage earner would need to work four full-time jobs to afford a “modest” two-bedroom apartment in the county. The most realistic solution is to try to preserve some of the existing housing where rents are in danger of climbing, because working with existing structures costs one-third as much as building new housing, Bodaken said.” According to Roger Lewis, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, “it is going to take some public-sector financing, which then gets into the political briar patch.” (We also touched upon the high housing costs in Arlington in yesterday’s In The News)

Quiet Time on Capitol Hill Offers Opportunity for Charities (Chronicle of Philanthropy): “Legislative decisions often get delayed in a presidential-election year, but that makes 2012 a good time to contact members of Congress and their aides, says Jerry McCoy, a Washington lawyer who advises charities. [...] Andrew Schulz, vice president for government relations at the Council on Foundations, agrees that this year is an opportune time for charities to press their issues with elected officials on Capitol Hill. “Foundations and nonprofits need to be more engaged in policy discussions,” Mr. Schulz say. Do you agree? Are there specific policy questions that you would like to tackle in the coming year?

Backstage: Synetic tames a 21st-century ‘Shrew’ (Washington Post: Lifestyle): “ Synetic’s take on Shakespeare’s play transports the story to Hollywood-inspired “Paduawood.” Bianca is a top model and daughter of one of the world’s biggest producers. Her sister, Katherine, like many a frustrated heroine before her, is bored by her glamorous but empty existence. The bohemian artist Petruchio rides into her life on a motorcycle and, well, you know the rest. [...] Though this is the eighth “Silent Shakespeare” production, it marks only the second comedy in the series — though “Romeo and Juliet” featured quite a bit of slapstick.” Taming of the Shrew runs from March 31 to April 22 and you can learn more here.