With Congress in recess, it’s been a slow week on Capitol Hill. But last week’s news clips show us that homelessness and housing are still on the minds of many across the country.

In Marin County, a columnist notes that with the housing wage for a one-bedroom apartment sitting at a sky-high $28.17 an hour, pay increases would have to be pretty steep to  fill in the gap between what low-wage workers can afford and the rental homes available there.

A TV station in Tennessee features a game that challenges players to get by on the minimum wage, and explains that low wages and a lack of affordable housing are major causes of homelessness in the U.S.

In Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders used the opportunity of the opening of a new homeless shelter to note that funding the National Housing Trust Fund could help end the national disgrace that is homelessness.

In Maryland, a writer explores what it means for lower income workers when your state is tied with two others for least-affordable state in the continental U.S.

Finally, in Springfield, Ohio, criticism and praise for the HOPE VI-funded redevelopment of a Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority development.