In an effort to enhance services, transparency and participation for citizens of Tacoma, TV Tacoma this week began to provide closed captioning for City Council meetings. As of Feb. 5, text captions are displayed that transcribe speech and often other relevant sounds for the meetings.
Closed captioning (CC), commonly known as subtitles, allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing, learning a new language, beginning to read, in a noisy environment, or otherwise prefer to read a transcript or dialog of the audio portion of a video, film, or other presentation to participate.
For the past two years, the City has made Assisted Listening Devices available upon request at Council meetings. The City has recently added information about TTY capabilities for deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired persons through the Washington Relay Services, with details about the service on every page of the City Web site.
City Council meetings are held on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 747 Market St. and broadcast live on TV Tacoma, which can be seen on Channel 12 in Tacoma City limits on both Click! and Comcast cable systems (Channel 21 in Pierce County; everywhere except University Place and on channel 85 on Click!). For more information about TV Tacoma, visit http://www.tvtacoma.com or call (253) 573-CITY.