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If I had to use one word to describe Morgan Hill resident (and Santa Clara County social worker) Cynthia Stocker, it would be “passionate.” Or “dedicated.” Or “energetic.” Well, OK, let’s forget that idea because one word doesn’t do justice to this animated, community-engaged woman.

I observe the City of Gilroy is switching streetlights from the kind with the orange glow to LEDs and have several questions. What is the replacement cost of each new light being installed? What is the monthly electrical operating cost of a new vs. the old style streetlight? Are the citizens going to see a cost savings in the first year of operating the lights? Will the city be able to recoup the cost of the old lights by selling them to another municipality and not just dumping them in the trash? How many hours of operation should a light provide before the bulb or LED will need to be replaced? Is PGE helping cover part of the cost of replacing? Thank you for investigating.

For the past two years, Gilroyans Lionel and Marilyn have inspired me by their example of selfless giving and what Christmas truly means at a time of year when wages are at their lowest for field workers and the livelihood of migrant families is at its most precarious.

Know a socially-minded teen with a passion for repairing the world? The Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards is seeking nominations of Jewish teens with exceptional community service/social change projects that embody the value of tikkun olam, repairing the world. Nominations for the awards present an opportunity for educators, civic leaders and teen mentors to acknowledge Jewish teens whose thoughtful approach to making a difference is creating meaningful change, whether locally, nationally or globally. The Helen Diller Family Foundation will recognize up to 15 recipients for its 2015 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards with $36,000 each.

SAN JOSE – San Jose chased Anaheim starting goaltender Frederik Anderson in the second period Saturday night on the way to a 6-4 nail-biter victory at SAP Center.Andersen, sixth in the NHL in goals against average (2.15) and ninth in wins (10) entering play, departed 6:09 into the second period after Tomas Hertl’s fifth goal of the year lifted San Jose to a 5-1 lead. Andersen recorded 14 saves.The Ducks (33 points) share first place in the Pacific Division with Vancouver. The Sharks, hosting Philadelphia Tuesday and Boston Thursday to complete the six-game homestand, are fifth in the division with 26 points. San Jose is 10th overall in the Western Conference, one point behind Minnesota, two behind Winnipeg.Hertl’s goal, assisted by James Sheppard, gave San Jose five goals in a game for the third time this season.That four-goal lead dropped to one by the 4:20 mark of the third period. After holding onto that margin for 14:50, San Jose’s Matt Nieto scored an empty-net goal while the Sharks were on a power play with 49.2 seconds left in the game.San Jose snapped a four-game losing streak while improving to 2-0 against the Ducks this season.Tommy Wingels came into the game with 11 points for San Jose, then busted out for four points (one goal and three assists) to pace the Shark scoring.Logan Couture scored for the first two of San Jose’s three goals in the first period.Patrick Marleau’s hard shot from the top of the eight circle bounded off the leg of Anaheim defenseman Sami Vatanen, leaving a loose puck in the low slot that Couture pounced on and snapped the shot past Andersen at 9:05 of the opening period.After Anaheim’s Matt Beleskey redirected Hampus Lindholm’s shot past Antti Niemi to tie the game at the 10:53 mark, Couture went back to work for a second goal at 13:35.Couture needed a stop at a hospital for antibiotics that afternoon, then was cleared to play by the medical staff before game time. Couture chased down a fumbled pass by the Ducks during a power play, speeding past the defense to record a short-handed goal through Andersen’s pads at 13:35.San Jose added a power-play goal with 13.6 seconds left in the first period. Joe Pavelski slipped the puck to Joe Thornton behind the Ducks’ net, then was set to one-time Thornton’s crisp pass through the slot for his 10th goal of the season.Wingels hustled to the front of the Ducks’ crease before redirecting Marleau’s shot from the blueline past Anderson at 2:46 of the second. When Hertl backhanded a shot into the net, Andersen’s night was done and Jason LaBarbera handled the goaltending duty for the rest of the contest.The Ducks responded with three even-strength goals to trail 5-4 with 15:40 left. Ryan Getzlaf assisted on a pair of Corey Perry goals before backhanding a shot for his seventh goal of the year to complete the Anaheim scoring.“We stayed composed,” Wingels said of the third period play of the Sharks. “It was a good win for us.”

Every fall and spring, the High Point Furniture Market presents all the newest and most colorful home furnishing products to the design community. The colors most prevalent during the fall market are indicators of what you will see in stores for the upcoming year. Here are color directions that jumped out at us at this fall’s market—food for thought when you’re thinking about future updates to your home.

“Cirque Dreams Holidaze” arrives at the Center for the Performing Arts blazing with freshness and energy. A little different than what we are use to with other productions of this kind, but nonetheless entertaining and eye catching. This is a young offering of this type of production and has a ways to go to catch up to its big brother, but it’s on its way with no holds barred.

It’s that time of year again. The time when no matter what holiday you celebrate, families get together. We share a meal. We share time together. And generally this ends well with everyone radiating love and a full stomach when the celebration is over.

The pastime of backpacking is a tough sell, and that is a terrible shame. I will never win over the “my-idea-of-camping-is-a-night-at-the-Four-Seasons” crowd. After all, there is a good bit of burdened walking and doing without. But many times, I have watched the evening light cast a glow over a wilderness setting of amazing grandeur and peace and thought that if I could just pick someone up and set them down here, they would dismiss the hardships as a small price to pay for such a moment.

I live on the 8000 block of Westwood Drive and I notice there is no speed sign going toward Welburn. We get a lot of speeders and motorcycles. It's terrible. They need to put a sign up. Thanks.