Featured

A’s Welcome New and Returning Players

Published

12 years ago

August 1, 2014

Oakland, CA – General Manager Billy Beane shocked the world of baseball by making some major moves before the trade deadline yesterday. For the last two years the Oakland A’s have been the Divisional Champs but have been unable to get past the Detroit Tigers.

This year, Beane was bold, aggressive and confident that the moves he made would win the franchise a World Series and not just get past the Tigers. He traded his best prospect, shortstop Addison Russell for Jeff Samardzija to the Chicago Cubs on July 5th and yesterday he sent a fan favorite to Boston.

“Around this time of year I think you want to communicate with teams incase something comes along,” Beane said. “But things really start to come together in the final 36 hours before the trade deadline.”

With the best record in the Majors, Beane did the unthinkable trading two-time Home Run Derby champion Yoenis Cespedes for Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes to the Boston Red Sox. Cespedes was brilliant in left-field and proved that with his monster throws to home plate getting runners out.

Lester who is a free agent at season’s end is known for being one of the strongest and best pitchers the Red Sox had in their rotation. He won four postseason games including two in the World Series. His job will be to prevent runs while Oakland continues to find ways to win. After losing one of their prominent starters, the A’s have to turn the page and keep improving.

“Obviously leaving Boston after being there for so long is difficult, but I’m excited to be here,” said Lester. “Going from a team that hasn’t done so well this year to the team with the best record in baseball is exciting.”

“I’m pumped for it [a chance to win the World Series] but as devastating as it was to lose a guy like Cespedes, it’s something you want to see happen in the end,” Josh Reddick said. “When you have a rotation as deadly as this one, you need these two guys coming in to give us that extra push.”

Gomes returns after being gone for two seasons. He’s familiar with the clubhouse, the players and coaches. Now he has a second opportunity to win another World Series with a team who currently holds first place. Gomes couldn’t be happier to be back in a area that he calls home. But unlike Lester, Gomes knows he’s all in to give this situation another try.

“Little biased from my end,” said Gomes. “Growing up in the area, begin an A’s fan. I always thought it was unique coming here. I went from A’s pajamas to an A’s uniform in 22 years.”

Now having that experience in winning a World Series Gomes looks forward to bringing that confidence and winning mentality to a younger ball club that he was once apart. Beane took a risk in making this trade to not just be good enough but to win it all. Meaning there will be no set backs along the way.

“I was fortunate enough to have that lifelong goal to get that World Series ring,” Gomes said. “I thought I was hungry to get that World Series ring. Now that I have it , I’ve become starving for it. It really sinks home to that’s what we play for.”

“They play the game the right way,” said Lester. “Obviously their pitching staff has always been strong. It’ll be fun to be a part of.”

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

8 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

10 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.