Congratulations Class of 2012 See a list of this year’s grads | P.10 JUNE 8, 2012 VOLUME 20, NO. 20
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MOVIES | PAGE 22
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Simitian, Gordon and Hill win primary races Hill, Lieber set for November showdown By Gennady Sheyner
J
erry Hill and Sally Lieber cruised to victory at Tuesday’s primary election and will now square off in November for a chance to represent a newly formed Senate district in the heart of the Peninsula. The two political veter-
ans were widely expected to advance to the next round in a four-way race that also included Mountain View teacher Christopher Chiang and John Webster, a libertarian who has run several times in the past. Hill dominated the field with 51 percent of the votes. Lieber trailed in distant second with
22 percent. Webster and Chiang earned 16 percent and 11 percent of the votes, respectively. Hill, who has the biggest campaign chest and the longest list of supporters in the political establishment, trounced the See NOVEMBER ELECTION, page 8
Measure G passes easily By Nick Veronin
V
oters approved the Mountain View Whisman School District’s $198 million school bond, Measure G, by a healthy margin — a 66 percent yes-vote when it needed only 55 percent to pass. “The Mountain View Whis-
man School District would like to express its gratitude to the Mountain View community for supporting Measure G,” district officials said in a press release. Measure G will be supported by district homeowners who See MEASURE G, page 15
St. Francis student killed in Oregon shooting UNCLE CONFESSES TO SLAYING 16-YEAR-OLD AND HIS GRANDMOTHER By Nick Veronin
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amily and friends are mourning the death of a Mountain View teenager who was shot and killed Monday outside his grandmother’s home in Oregon. Adrien Wallace, the boy’s 41-y e a r- o l d uncle, has confessed to killing Nicolas Juarez, a 16-year-old St. Francis Nicolas High School Juarez student, along with 71-year-old Saundra Wallace — the teen’s grandmother and suspect’s mother — with a hunting rifle on the evening of June 4. “The motive is unclear at this point,” said Sgt. Adam Phillips, public information officer for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. Although Juarez had only just begun his summer vacation, “he was probably more excited than most kids I know about starting the next school year,” said Danna Mitchell Carter. “It’s a tragedy,”
INSIDE
said Carter, the band director at St. Francis, the private Catholic high school in Mountain View where the 16-year-old had just finished his sophomore year. Juarez was excited because he had been named drum captain of the school band, a role he was set to take over with the beginning of the 2012-13 school year, Carter explained. The teen was heavily involved with music at the high school. In addition to his role in the school band, he was also set to be a section leader in the St. Francis symphonic band and the lead drummer of the school’s jazz band. Carter described Juarez as a great kid, who was earning high marks — a leader with many friends at the school. “One of the hardest things for me, was Adrien that Nick was Wallace so looking forward to next year,” she said. “This was his year. I am most
MICHELLE LE
From right, Mountain View High School students Julie Park, Alussa Hartje and Agnes Wang adjust their caps before heading out to the graduation ceremony on June 1.
MVHS grads focus on future jobs COLLEGE PLANS ARE DRIVEN BY CAREER GOALS, NOT LIBERAL ARTS STUDIES By Nick Veronin
A
s Mountain View High School’s class of 2012 marched over the synthetic turf of Carl Anderson Field in their black caps and gowns on June 1, they were all smiles. If any were worried about graduating into the fourth year of a recession, they didn’t show it. But even if the 434 Mountain View High School graduates were focusing on their accomplishments, some of them have already begun to take the steps they hope will ensure their economic security in the years to come. Before taking their final steps as high school
See SHOOTING, page 17
VIEWPOINT 18 | GOINGS ON 23 | MARKETPLACE 24 | REAL ESTATE 26
students, three soon-to-be MVHS graduates talked to the Voice about their college plans. All three are set to begin studying in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math — STEM, as it is called in education circles. None of them plans to focus much on the liberal arts. These two young men and one young woman are evidence of a trend in higher education, which values career-oriented, vocational training over the study of literature, philosophy, history and the arts — the humanities. See MVHS GRADS, page 10