St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page A009

02.27.2015 Friday 1 ST. LOU i POST- di SP a TCH A9 The new rules require that any company providing a broadband connection to a home or phone must act in the and refrain from using or business practices. The goal is to prevent providers from striking deals with content providers such as Google, Netflix or Twitter to move their data faster. is a red-letter today for Internet said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, whose remarks at meeting frequently prompted applause by Internet activists in the audience. President Barack Obama, who had come out in favor of net neutrality in the fall, portrayed the decision as a victory for democracy in the digital age.

In an online letter, he thanked the millions who wrote to the FCC and spoke out on social media in support of the change. FCC decision will protect innovation and create a level playing field for the next generation of entrepreneurs and it have happened without Americans like he wrote. Verizon saw it differently, using the Twitter hashtag to draw attention to the reliance on 1934 legislation to regulate the Internet. Net neutrality is the idea that websites or videos load at about the same speed. That means you be more inclined to watch a particular show on Amazon Prime instead of on Netflix because Amazon has struck a deal with your service provider to load its data more quickly.

For years, providers mostly agreed not to pick winners and losers among Web traffic because they want to encourage regulators to step in and because they said consumers demanded it. But that started to change about 2005, when YouTube came online and Netflix became increasingly popular. On-demand video began hogging bandwidth, and evidence surfaced that some providers were manipulating traffic without telling consumers. By 2010, the FCC enacted open Internet rules, but the legal approach was eventually struck down in the courts. The vote Thursday was intended by Wheeler to erase any legal ambiguity by no longer classifying the Internet as an but a subject to Title II of the 1934 Communications Act.

That would dramatically expand power over the industry and hold broadband providers to the higher standard of operating in the public interest. the cable best efforts to undermine our cause, we secured an open Internet, free from gatekeepers and corporate monopolies. We have an Internet for the said David Segal, executive director of Demand Progress, a progressive Internet activism group. Industry officials and congressional Republicans fought bitterly to stave off the new regulations, which they said constitute dangerous overreach and would eventually raise costs for consumers. The broadband industry was expected to sue.

years of uncertainty and unintended consequences ahead of us, it falls to Congress to step said Michael Powell, head of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. GOP lawmakers said they would push for legislation, although it is unlikely Obama would sign such a bill. action by Congress can fix the damage and uncertainty this FCC order has inflicted on the said Sen. John Thune, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Complicating the issue is that not every broadband provider agrees on what should be done.

Sprint, for example, has said it think the new regulations would hurt investment. however, supports the less stringent rules previously put in place by the FCC but which were struck down in court. On Thursday, a senior company official said the FCC had gone too far and could cause irreversible harm. anyone really think Washington needs yet another partisan fight? Particularly a fight around the Internet, one of the greatest engines of economic growth, investment, and innovation in said Jim Cicconi, senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs. The FCC says it apply some sections of Title II, including price controls.

That means rates charged to customers for Internet access be subject to preapproval. But the law allows the government to investigate if consumers complain that costs are unfair. Rules bar unjust practices INTERNET om A1 Associ A Pre Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak applauds the FCC vote on net neutrality at an open hearing Thursday in Washington. But addressing the situation is made more complicated by the fact that multiple state, federal and local programs comprise subsidized housing. The report conducted after the August shooting death of Michael Brown near the heart of low-income apartment complexes reviews such programs, including federal Section 8 vouchers.

But the report focuses mostly on projects funded through federal and state tax credits under the oversight of the Missouri Housing Development Commission. The program has exploded in recent years, with more than 50,000 housing units now in use more than four times the number in 1996. Units funded by the tax credits now constitute a third of all subsidized housing in the state. Traditional public housing units that are owned and run by agencies such as the St. Louis Housing Authority have dropped from 21 percent of all subsidized units to 12 percent since 1996, according to the records in the report.

The changes have put more responsibility on the housing development commission to oversee affordable housing options across the state. And yet, the lengthy report suggests that the agency is not doing enough to combat the high concentration of low- income housing. must ensure that the housing produced is not only affordable and high- quality, but that it is appropriate under the Zweifel wrote in December, when announcing his call for the study. His request followed news reports about subsidized housing in areas near where Brown was shot. Those include tax-credit supported Park Ridge Apartments and Northwinds Apartments near West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson.

Investors are subsidized for renovating the properties, which have a combined 774 units. As part of the contract, all residents in the sprawling apartment complexes must earn less than 60 percent of median income. The area of concentrated poverty was a hot spot for police calls for service before Brown was shot in the nearby Canfield Green Apartments. Zweifel, who also sits on the state housing development commission, had asked for a review of and procedures that analyze the need for housing and the existing density of low-income housing in a particular including Missouri Housing Development Commission housing and other subsidized programs. In the report documents, Kip Stetzler, interim executive director of the housing development commission, listed a host of potential changes to the review process of Low Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC, project proposals: Prohibiting any developments with more than 50 units, with some exceptions.

Putting higher priority on LIHTC proposal projects that include enriched housing such as day care services, tutoring, shuttle service and youth and parenting programs. Giving priority to proposals that are part of a municipal approved redevelopment or master plan. Adding local police departments to the list of entities that need to be informed about the project proposal. Prohibiting new construction in census tracts where more than 20 percent of housing units are subsidized, with some exceptions. Creating a new priority for project proposals in census tracts where the poverty rate is below 15 percent.

The suggested changes would need to go through a gamut of public hearings and agreement by housing commission members, who include Gov. Jay Nixon, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and Attorney General Chris Koster. The staff has also recommended that $185,000 in unused Missouri Housing Trust Fund money be awarded to St.

Francis Community Services, formerly Catholic Charities Community Services, to work with residents in five apartment complexes clustered in southeast Ferguson: Oakmont Townhomes, Versailles, Northwinds, Park Ridge and Canfield Green. The report was prepared in advance of a meeting that had been scheduled by the commission for Friday. On Thursday afternoon, the meeting in Columbia, was canceled and has not been reset. Jesse Bogan 314-340-8255 on Twitter Smaller projects suggested USING om A1 Associ A Pre Missouri Treasurer Clint Zweifel sought a new report on the subsidized, low-income housing programs. and disbelief was palpable in the Capitol halls.

Teary-eyed legislators wandered the eerily quiet hallways, stopping to hug or squeeze the shoulder of a colleague. An almost indistinguishable echoed across the first floor, as a woman sobbed into her cellphone. tenacious and energetic personality was highlighted by his dedication to find wrongdoing in his role as auditor. If elected governor, he promised to fight government corruption while running a transparent administration. Upon hearing the news of his death, Republican leaders called a prayer service in the House chamber, where a somber Speaker John Diehl, R-Town and Country, was joined on the dais by Lt.

Gov. Peter Kinder and Gov. Jay Nixon. are truly tragic Diehl said, clearing his throat to thwart the tears. House chaplain Monsignor Robert Kurwicki read Psalm 23 to a chamber full of lawmakers and their staff, who then recited the Prayer.

Nixon ordered flags be flown at half- staff following death and said in a statement that the intellect and unwavering dedication to public service left a legacy that will endure for many years to After the service, lawmakers retreated to their offices. Many immediately grabbed their coats and headed for the elevator, clearly emotionally drained. Rep. Elijah Haahr was among those who left quickly. He stood huddled in the corner of the elevator, wiping a tear from his eye.

The Republican from Springfield later posted on Twitter: of those days where words fail. Just praying for family and trying to see the light through the Part of that family was his two children, Emilie and Thomas Jr. whom Rep. Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, acknowledged specifically. lost a great man today, but moreover his children lost their he tweeted.

Inside the office of Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, a hug was exchanged and sniffles could be heard. He and many others feel up to speaking with reporters. Dempsey issued a joint statement with Senate Majority Leader Ron Richard, R- Joplin, and Senate Minority Leader Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis, calling Schweich a heartfelt prayers go out to his fam- ily at this difficult they said.

On the House side of the third floor, an addled-looking Diehl waved away reporters and issued a statement instead. was with immense sadness that I learned of the tragic passing of my good friend and fellow public Diehl said. is a devastating loss for our state as we have now lost a leader and a man of the highest integrity, character and Kinder, a key ally in 2010 bid for state auditor after donating $100,000 to his campaign, also declined to talk to reporters Thursday but made his feelings known on Twitter. for all of us in (Missouri) to reach for Holy Scripture, to pray and to reflect in sorrow he tweeted. to embrace the Schweich Schweich won his second term as auditor in November.

He was expected to take on former Missouri House Speaker Catherine Hanaway for the Republican nomination in the race for governor in 2016. In a statement, Hanaway said: state and nation are better places because of his tireless dedication to duty and Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, also expressed her sadness on Twitter. we lost a member of our state government she said. But it was Sen.

Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, who summed up best how many of the political figures were feeling about death. day, all Missourians have suffered a he said in a statement. Alex Stuckey 573-556-6186 on Twitter is day, all Missourians have su ered a CAPIT om A1 Attending a prayer service in the House chamber at the Capitol on Thursday for Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich were (from left) Gov. Jay Nixon, Monsignor Robert Kurwicki, Speaker John Diehl and Lt. Gov.

Peter Kinder. Associ A Pre Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich announces his candidacy for governor Jan. 28 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Schweich was first elected auditor in 2010 and was re-elected in November..