PAAIA Congratulates Shahinfar on Primary Election Win

PAAIA Congratulates Darius Shahinfar on Historic Primary Election Win 

September 11, 2013, Albany, NY –Darius Shahinfar claimed victory in Tuesday’s primary election for City Treasurer of Albany, New York.

Unofficial results show Shahinfar with 61% of the vote, while his opponent, County Legislator Gary Domalewicz, earned 34% percent. Both men were seeking to succeed current treasurer Kathy Sheehan, who won the primary election to become the next mayor of Albany. Having secured all third party endorsements, and given that there are no Republicans running in the race, Shahinfar will likely be unchallenged in the general election.

Click here to read more.

OFAC Issues Licenses Authorizing Humanitarian Measures, Athletic Exchanges Between U.S. and Iran

September 11, 2013, Washington, D.C. – The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two licenses on Tuesday that authorized humanitarian-related activities by nongovernmental organizations in Iran, as well as athletic exchanges between Iran and the United States.

General License E permits the exportation of services, and the transfer of funds, by nongovernmental organizations for a number of not-for-profit humanitarian activities which are aimed at benefiting the Iranian people.  These include: activities connected with humanitarian projects to meet basic human needs (such as the operation of orphanages and the distribution of donated articles, including food, medicine, and clothing), projects aimed at building human rights and democracy, wildlife and environmental conservation projects, and non-commercial reconstruction projects in response to natural disasters for a period of up to two years. 

Click here to read more.

Wrestling Regains Spot in Olympic Games

September 10, 2013, Washington, D.C. – Wrestling has regained its spot in the Olympic Games, after being dropped from the core list of sports by the International Olympics Committee in February. The sport beat squash and a combined bid by baseball and softball for the last remaining spot in the 2020 and 2024 Summer Games.

Wrestling, which has been on the program of every modern Olympic games except for 1900, received 49 votes to win in the first round of secret balloting by the IOC. Baseball and softball received 24 votes, and squash received 22.

Click here to read more.

PAAIA CHIP Fellow Reflects on Internship with Senator Dianne Feinstein

September 9, 2013, San Francisco, CA – This summer I had the incredible opportunity to take part in PAAIA’s Capitol Hill Internship Program by interning in Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office in San Francisco. Interning in Senator Feinstein’s office was both an amazing experience and a great learning opportunity. Handling mostly cases of constituent services and field representation, the San Francisco office gave me the chance to learn much more about localized politics and the intricacies of democratic representation. I enjoyed being able to interact with a diverse constituent body in different capacities and learning more about the issues they care about.

While I was able to sit in on meetings with various interest groups and hear their concerns regarding national issues, I was also able to work in assisting individual constituents with their claims and cases against federal agencies. 

Click here to read more.