联邦医保AI事前审批 华州头三个月拒批过半

Medicare's AI prior-approval pilot denied more than half of Washington requests in its first three months

传统联邦医保(Original Medicare)今年起在华州等六个州试行一项人工智能协助的「事前审批」，部分治疗要先获批准才给保，负责审批的承包商按替联邦医保省下的钱拿提成。据《西雅图时报》报道，一家民权组织打官司拿到的联邦文件显示，华州承包商到3月底做了6000多项审批决定，其中53%被拒，承包商自称此后批准率已上升到接近70%。打止痛针、装神经刺激器等项目在这个试点范围里，长者若被拒，可以提出申诉。

This year traditional Medicare began piloting AI-assisted prior authorization in six states including Washington, so some treatments must be approved before they are covered, and the contractors doing the reviews are paid a share of what they save Medicare. The Seattle Times reports that federal records obtained through a civil-liberties group's lawsuit show Washington's contractor made more than 6,000 decisions through March and denied 53%; the contractor says its approval rate has since risen toward 70%. Pain injections and nerve stimulators are among the covered services, and seniors who are denied can appeal.

来源：Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/medicare-ai-program-hit-wa-with-staggering-denial-rate-records-show/

贝尔维尤(Bellevue)警方用分贝仪查噪音车

Bellevue police use decibel readers to crack down on loud vehicles

车辆噪音和交通问题，一直是贝尔维尤(Bellevue)居民向警方反映最多的事。据KOMO电视台报道，贝尔维尤警方开始给警员配发分贝仪，能当场测出一辆车有多响，超过标准就可以开罚单。警方说，超速、飙车、排气管太响、危险驾驶和聚众赛车都在重点之列，住在大路边、晚上常被吵醒的长者，可以向警方反映。

Vehicle noise and traffic problems are consistently the top complaints Bellevue residents report to police. KOMO News reports Bellevue police are equipping officers with decibel readers that show how loud a vehicle is on the spot and allow a citation when it crosses the limit. Police say speeding, racing, loud mufflers, reckless driving and car meets are all targets, and seniors near busy roads who are kept awake can report it.

来源：Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIClIEswHcY

斯卡吉特县(Skagit County)小镇「编外镇长」被移民局羁押

Skagit County town's 'unofficial mayor' held by immigration authorities

康韦(Conway)是斯卡吉特县(Skagit County)的一个小镇，墨西哥裔居民胡安·阿洛阿托雷·马丁内斯(Juan Aloatorre Martinez)在那里生活工作了20多年，一直在等绿卡，被街坊叫作「编外镇长」。据KIRO 7电视台报道，他7月被移民与海关执法局(ICE)人员带走，现关在塔科马(Tacoma)的拘留中心；本人和律师说是抓错了人，国土安全部则说，抓他是因为他此前被捕过两次。正在排队等身份的家庭，宜把律师电话和身份文件复印件放在家人找得到的地方。

Conway is a small town in Skagit County where Juan Aloatorre Martinez, originally from Mexico, has lived and worked for more than 20 years while waiting for a green card; neighbors call him the town's 'unofficial mayor.' KIRO 7 reports he was detained by ICE agents in July and is now held at the Tacoma detention center; he and his attorney say agents took the wrong person, while the Department of Homeland Security says he was targeted because of two prior arrests. Families waiting on immigration status should keep a lawyer's number and copies of documents where relatives can find them.

来源：Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbtDEnND0Cs

西雅图首位有色人种女市议员西邦加去世 享年95岁

Dolores Sibonga, Seattle's first woman of color on the City Council, dies at 95

多洛蕾丝·西邦加(Dolores Sibonga)在西雅图唐人街国际区长大，1973年成为第一位获准在华州执业的菲律宾裔律师。据《西北亚洲周报》报道，她9月16日清晨去世，享年95岁；1978年她获任命进入西雅图市议会，成为第一位有色人种女市议员，一直做到1992年。她和丈夫1977年创办报纸，报道民权、鼓励少数族裔参与政治，2017年又参与设立项目，帮家境困难的年轻人到政府部门工作。

Dolores Sibonga grew up in Seattle's Chinatown-International District and in 1973 became the first Filipino American admitted to the Washington state bar. Northwest Asian Weekly reports she died early on Sept. 16 at 95; appointed to the Seattle City Council in 1978, she was the first woman of color to serve on it and stayed until 1992. With her husband she started a newspaper in 1977 covering civil rights and encouraging minority political participation, and in 2017 she helped found a fellowship giving young people from disadvantaged backgrounds work in government.

来源：Source: https://nwasianweekly.com/2026/09/pioneering-seattle-city-councilmember-and-civil-rights-champion-dolores-sibonga-passes-away/

西雅图市议员提议给新建住宅减免可负担房费

Seattle councilmember proposes cutting affordable-housing fees on new homes

西雅图规定新建住宅要交一笔「强制可负担房费」(MHA)，这笔钱专门用来盖给低收入者住的房子，因开工量下滑，收入从2021年高峰的7400万美元跌到今年截至8月约700万。据The Urbanist网站报道，市议会住房委员会主席福斯特(Dionne Foster)9月16日提出方案，已拿到许可、卡在融资上的项目减免80%，新项目减免60%但至少四分之一要是多卧室户型，为期2年。方案9月18日（周五）提交住房委员会，全体市议会预计明年1月表决；据力推减免的西雅图住房圆桌会议统计，有35个停滞项目、6000多套住房在等。

Seattle charges new housing a Mandatory Housing Affordability fee that pays for homes for low-income residents; with construction slowing, the money has fallen from a $74 million peak in 2021 to about $7 million so far this year through August. The Urbanist reports that Councilmember Dionne Foster, who chairs the housing committee, proposed on Sept. 16 an 80% cut for permitted projects stuck on financing and a 60% cut for new projects that make at least a quarter of units multi-bedroom, for two years. It goes to committee Friday, Sept. 18, with a full council vote expected in January; the Seattle Housing Roundtable, which backs the break, counts 35 stalled projects with more than 6,000 homes waiting.

来源：Source: https://www.theurbanist.org/foster-resurrects-housing-accelerator-teeing-up-mha-fee-break-in-2027/

西雅图市中心8月到访人次超过疫情前

Downtown Seattle visits in August topped pre-pandemic levels

西雅图市中心协会(Downtown Seattle Association)是市中心商家组成的团体，定期统计进出市中心的人数，用来看疫情后市中心恢复得怎么样。据MyNorthwest报道，该协会9月16日公布，8月市中心共有920万人次到访，比2019年8月高12%，是7年多来人最多的一个月，市中心酒店也卖出近42.9万间夜。不过工作日来市中心上班的人只有2019年的62%，平均每天约15万人。

The Downtown Seattle Association is a group of downtown businesses that tracks how many people come downtown, as a measure of the post-pandemic recovery. MyNorthwest reports the association said Sept. 16 that downtown drew 9.2 million visits in August, 12% more than August 2019 and the busiest month in more than seven years, and downtown hotels sold nearly 429,000 room nights. Weekday office workers, however, are at 62% of 2019 levels, about 150,000 a day.

来源：Source: https://mynorthwest.com/local/downtown-seattle-pre-pandemic/4276779