KTQA acknowledges that we are broadcasting from the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish people. Our region is covered by the Treaty of Medicine Creek, signed under duress in 1854.

According to the National Museum of the American Indian, the treaty was interpreted into the 500-word Chinook Trade Jargon, which lacked words for concepts of land ownership, fishing rights, and other concepts encoded by the treaty. Native communities relinquished 2.5 million acres of tribal land to the U.S. in exchange for three 1,280-acre reservations, $32,500 paid over 13 years, and other considerations that aimed to assimilate Indians into European–American culture.

The Nisqually people’s chief Leschi’s name appears to have been signed with “X”. Leschi was angered by his tribe’s relocation to a wooded area with no access to the river to fish for salmon, and made his anger and resentment known by urging neighboring tribes to place no faith in those negotiating treaties on behalf of the US. Eight months of resistence by Coast Salish tribespeople let to the capture and trial of Chief Leschi. Upon retrial, which many in retrospect consider to have been double jeopardy, Leschi was found guilty by a jury of non-Indians, and hanged near Fort Steilacoom.

We are honored to know more of the history of our native neighbors as we at KTQA continue our work to bring Tacoma’s voices and stories to our community through broadcast and streaming radio.

• The state Department of Health had data processing issues on Monday, so COVID-19 case and death numbers have not been updated for Oct. 12.
  • The department said it expects to report updated coronavirus data Tuesday
  • Data on the online state dashboard was only current through Oct 10th
• The Great Washington ShakeOut will take place this Thursday, Oct 15th at 10:15 a.m.
  • Individuals, families, and organizations may participate by practicing wherever you are at that time – whether it’s at home, work or even on the sidewalk with your dog–what to do in an earthquake.
  • The standard practice is to drop, cover, and hold for the duration of any shaking
  • On the coast, tsunami sirens will sound at 10:15 a.m. on Oct. 15 as part of the drill.
  • There will also be messages in English, as well as Spanish and Russian in some areas.
  • NOAA Weather Radios will also sound an alarm.
  • Officials stress there is no need to call 911 in response to these sirens or alarms.
  • To find more info or to register to be counted, go to shakeout.org/washington
• The State Department of Health is urging everyone in public to cover your mouth and nose with a mask, and for those who can’t wear a mask, to ask abusiness for accommodations like Curbside takeout or home delivery.

• Several cinemas will be opening in our region as new rules go into effect for movie theaters in Phase 2 counties.
  • Century Point Ruston, Century Federal Way, AMC Lakewood Mall 12 will all open this week to 25% capacity.
  • Masks and social distancing between households are among the requirements.
  • The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department stated that new rules do not change the vigilance we need in Pierce County, where our COVID-19 case rates have been rising recently.
  • The county topped 90 in new single-day case counts twice in recent days, the highest single-day totals since August.
  • According to the health department, Sunday’s count of 98 “did not include any backlog in cases from state systems–The high number is from increasing community transmission, more household transmissions, and multiple positive tests from an outbreak at Maple Creek care facility of Lakewood.
• Tacoma Public Library, Pierce County Library, and Tahoma Audubon Society are celebrating Poetry in the Park through October 18th.
  • Adriana Hess Audubon Park in UP, Ft. Steilacoom Park in Lakewood, Snake Lake Park in Tacoma, Spanaway Lake Park in Spanaway, Thelma Gilmur Park in Fircrest, and Wapato Park in Tacoma all have poetry signs up this fall
  • Everyone is encouraged to practice social distancing and wear a mask while visiting parks, and you can find more information at tahomaaudobon.org.

• Tacoma City Council will hold its weekly meeting virutally tomorrow, October 13, at 6pm
  • It will air on TV Tacoma and will be livestreamed on TVTacoma.com and on the city’s Facebook live.

• There are numerous free COVID-19 testing sites in our region:
  • For King County locations visit KingCounty.gov.
  • For Pierce County locations, visit TPCHD.org/covidtest.
• This week’s free pop-up testing events in Pierce County include:
  • On Tuesday, Oct 13th, Testing will be held at Salvation Army located at 1110 S. Puget Sound Ave. in Tacoma, and also at Pierce College Puyallup and the Multicultural Child and Family Hope Center in Tacoma.
  • On Wednesday, Oct 14, testing will be held at the Dupont City Building at 1700 Civic Dr., and at Pacific Lutheran University.
  • On Thursday, Oct 15, testing will take place at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood and at the Washington State Fair Grounds’ Blue Lot in Puyallup
  • On Friday, October 16, testing will be held at the Tom Taylor Family YMCA, at the Pierce County AIDS Foundation location in Tacoma, and at Tacoma Nazarene Church.
• No ID is required and tests are free and open to anyone.
• Many testing events run all day from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, but check TPCHD.org/covidtest for times.
• Community Health Care, with locations in Tacoma, Spanaway, and Lakewood, is offering testing for COVID-19, even if you are not a Community Health Care patient.
  • Call (253) 722-2161 for a Tele-Health Screening Appointment