Category: CNN Regional

KPIX

By Sharon Chin

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    FAIRFIELD, California (KPIX) — Nearly two decades after a popular Fairfield councilmember was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity, his mother and stepfather are carrying on his legacy of public service.

Together, Teresa and Raymond Courtemanche have walked a horrific journey in memory of their son, Matt Garcia.

“He loved his community. He loved Fairfield,” Teresa Courtemanche said.

Garcia had just made headlines in 2007. At age 21, he was elected the youngest city council member in Fairfield and one of the youngest in California history. Then, 10 months later, at the age of 22, he was shot to death, apparently mistaken for a drug dealer.

As his mom Teresa and his stepdad Raymond grappled with their grief, they vowed not to let go of Garcia’s dream.

“Matthew was a donor, so we were talking about his organs to meet needs. And it became real crystal clear to me, ‘Keep the dream alive,” said Raymond.

Teresa added, “We need to invest in our young people. That’s what he did, and we just want to keep that going.”

Three months after Garcia died, the Courtemanches began a nonprofit in his name. The Matt Garcia Foundation continued the work of the Fairfield native who declared as a sixth grader that he would one day hold public office.

“So, the idea is ‘community’ for us, really. That’s Matt’s message. Period,” said Raymond.

Teresa and Raymond organize volunteers a wide range of activities, from arts and crafts events, to grocery giveaways, to monthly downtown cleanup days, all funded by proceeds from an annual golf tournament.

The foundation works to support organ donation and gun buyback programs, and fight youth homelessness and human trafficking. Once a month, Teresa helps lead a Homicide Survivors Support Group, the only one of its kind in Solano County.

Licensed clinical social worker Patty Ayala comes alongside the participants and says the meetings foster hope and resilience.

“They say hurt people hurt people. And it doesn’t have to be like that. People who are healing can share their healing with other people,” Ayala said.

The foundation also presents thousands of dollars in scholarships to about a dozen students a year, including volunteer Autumn Carabajal. She’s thankful to the Courtemanches for the financial aid that allows her to study at community college and follow her dream to become a paleontologist.

“They’re really supportive with everyone around them. There’s no judgments. There’s just lots of love,” Carabajal said.

The foundation’s logo, “FFINEST”, for “Fairfield’s Finest”, was Garcia’s personalized license plate. It now embodies his parents’ hope for the lives they touch.

“That’s really the theme behind it – encouraging people to be the finest that you can be. Your friends, your family, your future,” said Raymond.

When asked what Matt would say to what his parents are accomplishing in his name?

“I feel him all the time, and he’s so proud,” said his Mom. “We can stand up in the most devastating of times and make change for the better.”

For carrying on Matt Garcia’s legacy of service to their community, this week’s CBS News Bay Area ICON Award goes to Raymond and Teresa Courtemanche.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Sharon Chin

Click here for updates on this story

    FAIRFIELD, California (KPIX) — Nearly two decades after a popular Fairfield councilmember was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity, his mother and stepfather are carrying on his legacy of public service.

Together, Teresa and Raymond Courtemanche have walked a horrific journey in memory of their son, Matt Garcia.

“He loved his community. He loved Fairfield,” Teresa Courtemanche said.

Garcia had just made headlines in 2007. At age 21, he was elected the youngest city council member in Fairfield and one of the youngest in California history. Then, 10 months later, at the age of 22, he was shot to death, apparently mistaken for a drug dealer.

As his mom Teresa and his stepdad Raymond grappled with their grief, they vowed not to let go of Garcia’s dream.

“Matthew was a donor, so we were talking about his organs to meet needs. And it became real crystal clear to me, ‘Keep the dream alive,” said Raymond.

Teresa added, “We need to invest in our young people. That’s what he did, and we just want to keep that going.”

Three months after Garcia died, the Courtemanches began a nonprofit in his name. The Matt Garcia Foundation continued the work of the Fairfield native who declared as a sixth grader that he would one day hold public office.

“So, the idea is ‘community’ for us, really. That’s Matt’s message. Period,” said Raymond.

Teresa and Raymond organize volunteers a wide range of activities, from arts and crafts events, to grocery giveaways, to monthly downtown cleanup days, all funded by proceeds from an annual golf tournament.

The foundation works to support organ donation and gun buyback programs, and fight youth homelessness and human trafficking. Once a month, Teresa helps lead a Homicide Survivors Support Group, the only one of its kind in Solano County.

Licensed clinical social worker Patty Ayala comes alongside the participants and says the meetings foster hope and resilience.

“They say hurt people hurt people. And it doesn’t have to be like that. People who are healing can share their healing with other people,” Ayala said.

The foundation also presents thousands of dollars in scholarships to about a dozen students a year, including volunteer Autumn Carabajal. She’s thankful to the Courtemanches for the financial aid that allows her to study at community college and follow her dream to become a paleontologist.

“They’re really supportive with everyone around them. There’s no judgments. There’s just lots of love,” Carabajal said.

The foundation’s logo, “FFINEST”, for “Fairfield’s Finest”, was Garcia’s personalized license plate. It now embodies his parents’ hope for the lives they touch.

“That’s really the theme behind it – encouraging people to be the finest that you can be. Your friends, your family, your future,” said Raymond.

When asked what Matt would say to what his parents are accomplishing in his name?

“I feel him all the time, and he’s so proud,” said his Mom. “We can stand up in the most devastating of times and make change for the better.”

For carrying on Matt Garcia’s legacy of service to their community, this week’s CBS News Bay Area ICON Award goes to Raymond and Teresa Courtemanche.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

KCBS

By Laurie Perez

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    PASADENA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — After losing their Pasadena home in the Eaton Fire, Jun Li Lujan and her husband were among the first to finish rebuilding their home and move back in time for Thanksgiving.

“I’m a fighter,” Lujan said. “I fight back to my house.”

She’s thankful not only for a new home but also for a new beginning. Lujan’s rebuilding process in the fire zone was made a lot easier thanks to her expertise as a home builder and designer.

It has not been as smooth for many others. Los Angeles County’s recovery dashboard shows that officials have received more than 2,400 rebuilding applications, 367 of which are under construction. Other than Lujan’s, only one other home has finished rebuilding.

Lujan said she designed her home to be fire-resistant, with new aluminum siding, non-flammable furniture and a metal roof.

“That’s a big lesson for me,” she said. “When I design the new house, the first thing I think about, I need a metal roof.”

On Tuesday, Lujan and her husband hosted an open house for their neighbors, fellow fire survivors and city leaders.

“My house burned down, I never cried,” Lujan said. “Yesterday, I see them all come, I have tears.”

Hanging on Lujan’s fence is a sign that she found just weeks after the fire. It reads, “And so they built a life they loved.” The couple said they knew they would put it up once they rebuilt.

Lujan hopes the sign and the house inspire others to rebuild.

“If I can do, they can too,” she said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Laurie Perez

Click here for updates on this story

    PASADENA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — After losing their Pasadena home in the Eaton Fire, Jun Li Lujan and her husband were among the first to finish rebuilding their home and move back in time for Thanksgiving.

“I’m a fighter,” Lujan said. “I fight back to my house.”

She’s thankful not only for a new home but also for a new beginning. Lujan’s rebuilding process in the fire zone was made a lot easier thanks to her expertise as a home builder and designer.

It has not been as smooth for many others. Los Angeles County’s recovery dashboard shows that officials have received more than 2,400 rebuilding applications, 367 of which are under construction. Other than Lujan’s, only one other home has finished rebuilding.

Lujan said she designed her home to be fire-resistant, with new aluminum siding, non-flammable furniture and a metal roof.

“That’s a big lesson for me,” she said. “When I design the new house, the first thing I think about, I need a metal roof.”

On Tuesday, Lujan and her husband hosted an open house for their neighbors, fellow fire survivors and city leaders.

“My house burned down, I never cried,” Lujan said. “Yesterday, I see them all come, I have tears.”

Hanging on Lujan’s fence is a sign that she found just weeks after the fire. It reads, “And so they built a life they loved.” The couple said they knew they would put it up once they rebuilt.

Lujan hopes the sign and the house inspire others to rebuild.

“If I can do, they can too,” she said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

KYW

By Stephanie Stahl

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — A family with a daughter receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia says this Thanksgiving, they have a lot to be grateful for.

Eleven-year-old Desa Kaiser, a young dancer who was paralyzed in an accident, is back on the dance floor thanks to some special ingenuity.

The sixth grader is paralyzed from the waist down after a car crash.

“I was sad, but I knew that I’ll have a lot of people around me to help me,” Desa said.

That help is at Shriners Children’s, where she gets physical therapy. The Shriners team even helped get Desa back on the dance floor in a specialized dancing wheelchair.

“It’s an amazing chair that’s different from others,” Desa said, “because you can be more free in it and you can express a lot more in it.”

Desa showed us how she could bend all the way back and touch the ground while staying in the chair.

With this help, she’s already returned to the stage.

“I do jazz, ballet, lyrical, and some funk, hip-hop sometimes,” Desa said.

Physical therapist Maggie Reilly says strength training helps Desa move more freely in the customized wheelchair.

“We wanted to bring her a chair that would allow her to dance and do what she loves,” Reilly said. “One thing that we strive most to do here at Shriners is letting children achieve their goals in whatever way that may be possible.”

Possibilities have blossomed since the accident three years ago, when the family spent that Thanksgiving at Shriners.

“Nobody wants to spend Thanksgiving in a hospital, but they make you feel as at home as they can make you,” Allyson Keiser, Desa’s mother, said.

Allyson Keiser says the family has a lot to be thankful for with Desa back on the dance floor.

“It is a huge sense of hope for her and it’s just a huge relief to be able to give her something that we thought she lost,” Allyson Keiser said.

Desa may have lost some mobility, but she’s found a new identity.

“It’s cool to be different from other people and more unique in different ways,” Desa said.

While she plans to keep up with dancing, Desa says because of her experience at Shriners, she’s also thinking about becoming a pediatric nurse.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Stephanie Stahl

Click here for updates on this story

    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — A family with a daughter receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia says this Thanksgiving, they have a lot to be grateful for.

Eleven-year-old Desa Kaiser, a young dancer who was paralyzed in an accident, is back on the dance floor thanks to some special ingenuity.

The sixth grader is paralyzed from the waist down after a car crash.

“I was sad, but I knew that I’ll have a lot of people around me to help me,” Desa said.

That help is at Shriners Children’s, where she gets physical therapy. The Shriners team even helped get Desa back on the dance floor in a specialized dancing wheelchair.

“It’s an amazing chair that’s different from others,” Desa said, “because you can be more free in it and you can express a lot more in it.”

Desa showed us how she could bend all the way back and touch the ground while staying in the chair.

With this help, she’s already returned to the stage.

“I do jazz, ballet, lyrical, and some funk, hip-hop sometimes,” Desa said.

Physical therapist Maggie Reilly says strength training helps Desa move more freely in the customized wheelchair.

“We wanted to bring her a chair that would allow her to dance and do what she loves,” Reilly said. “One thing that we strive most to do here at Shriners is letting children achieve their goals in whatever way that may be possible.”

Possibilities have blossomed since the accident three years ago, when the family spent that Thanksgiving at Shriners.

“Nobody wants to spend Thanksgiving in a hospital, but they make you feel as at home as they can make you,” Allyson Keiser, Desa’s mother, said.

Allyson Keiser says the family has a lot to be thankful for with Desa back on the dance floor.

“It is a huge sense of hope for her and it’s just a huge relief to be able to give her something that we thought she lost,” Allyson Keiser said.

Desa may have lost some mobility, but she’s found a new identity.

“It’s cool to be different from other people and more unique in different ways,” Desa said.

While she plans to keep up with dancing, Desa says because of her experience at Shriners, she’s also thinking about becoming a pediatric nurse.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Sean Coffey

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    RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) — North Carolina is hosting two special guests this Thanksgiving: Gobble, the 2025 National Thanksgiving Turkey, and his alternate, Waddle.

After receiving a Presidential pardon, the two birds will retire at NC State University, marking the second time the university has provided a home for the National Thanksgiving Turkeys, following Chocolate and Chip in 2022.

Gobble and Waddle, both North Carolina natives, were raised on a farm in Wayne County.

“It’s amazing for the state of North Carolina,” said Garey Fox, the university’s dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “We are a major poultry producer within the nation. And it’s just awesome to have these turkeys at NC State and to be entrusted with these wonderful birds.”

The two birds will also serve as educational ambassadors in their retirement, creating opportunities for students, the turkey industry, and the public.

“They really do create a lot of opportunities with the students as well as with the Turkey industry and the public at large. That’s kind of a focus point. Everybody likes to talk about turkeys and Thanksgiving, and it just gives us an opportunity to branch out from there on a lot of subject matter,” said Jesse Grimes, an Extension Turkey Specialist with the university.

North Carolina leads the nation in turkey production by weight and ranks second in turkey headcount. The poultry industry contributes approximately $40 billion annually to the state’s economy.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

WCBS

By Nick Caloway

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    NORWOOD, New Jersey (WCBS) — A Norwood, New Jersey couple is celebrating a big milestone: 75 years of marriage.

They say it all started with one little lie.

Stanley, 97, and Leatrice Dvoskin, 94, like to keep things light.

“Her favorite meal to make is reservations,” Stanley said. “You’ve got to laugh at some things, because things get rough at times. So a sense of humor helps.”

The two met at a dance at City College in Manhattan in 1949. Stanley, from Brooklyn, gave Leatrice a ride home to the Bronx.

“And I called and told him I lost a pair of earrings in his car, which was not true,” Leatrice said.

“It’s called entrapment,” Stanley said.

“So he said he’d look for the earrings and call me back. Then he called me back and said he didn’t find the earrings. And that was the beginning of our relationship,” Leatrice said.

A year later, they were married. They recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.

They now live in an apartment building for seniors in North Jersey, where shelves and walls are filled with pictures of their three daughters, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Seventy fire years of marriage is an incredibly rare milestone to reach. So what’s their secret?

“We have happy hour every night at 5 p.m.,” Leatrice said.

“I’m the bartender,” Stanley said.

A little alone time doesn’t hurt either. Every day, Stanley heads out and goes for a drive. He takes his Pontiac on a 10-minute trip over the New York border to his favorite gym, where he’s the oldest member.

“They call me the mayor,” Stanley said.

“When he comes home, it’s something else to talk about. I don’t know them, but instead of just talking about this hurts and that hurts, it gives me something else to talk about with him,” Leatrice said.

After decades together, there are plenty of aches and pains, but more laughs to come.

“Listen to what they say, and then tell them where they’re wrong,” Stanley said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Nick Caloway

Click here for updates on this story

    NORWOOD, New Jersey (WCBS) — A Norwood, New Jersey couple is celebrating a big milestone: 75 years of marriage.

They say it all started with one little lie.

Stanley, 97, and Leatrice Dvoskin, 94, like to keep things light.

“Her favorite meal to make is reservations,” Stanley said. “You’ve got to laugh at some things, because things get rough at times. So a sense of humor helps.”

The two met at a dance at City College in Manhattan in 1949. Stanley, from Brooklyn, gave Leatrice a ride home to the Bronx.

“And I called and told him I lost a pair of earrings in his car, which was not true,” Leatrice said.

“It’s called entrapment,” Stanley said.

“So he said he’d look for the earrings and call me back. Then he called me back and said he didn’t find the earrings. And that was the beginning of our relationship,” Leatrice said.

A year later, they were married. They recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.

They now live in an apartment building for seniors in North Jersey, where shelves and walls are filled with pictures of their three daughters, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Seventy fire years of marriage is an incredibly rare milestone to reach. So what’s their secret?

“We have happy hour every night at 5 p.m.,” Leatrice said.

“I’m the bartender,” Stanley said.

A little alone time doesn’t hurt either. Every day, Stanley heads out and goes for a drive. He takes his Pontiac on a 10-minute trip over the New York border to his favorite gym, where he’s the oldest member.

“They call me the mayor,” Stanley said.

“When he comes home, it’s something else to talk about. I don’t know them, but instead of just talking about this hurts and that hurts, it gives me something else to talk about with him,” Leatrice said.

After decades together, there are plenty of aches and pains, but more laughs to come.

“Listen to what they say, and then tell them where they’re wrong,” Stanley said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.