The mast on top of a KSBW live truck got tangled with a live power line on Saturday as the crew inside was backing out of a parking spot, according to the Monterey County Herald.

There were no injuries to the reporter, Tom Miller, or the camera operator. The pair had just finished a report for the 6 p.m. newscast (pictured) and forgot to lower the mast on the truck before driving away.

News director Laughton Dodd said the KSBW van is equipped with an alarm that sounds if the van goes into motion while the mast is up, but the alarm malfunctioned. Some area residents lost power and cable service temporarily, according to city officials.

“It was shocking to see the crime scene.  I’m so used to seeing this type of scenes but when you know it’s your family, it’s just different,” Erandi Garcia, a popular anchor with the Monterey-Salinas Univision station, told KION reporter Rachel Ramirez in a recent interview.

Garcia’s 61-year-old father, Artemio, was shot and killed on Sunday as he was walking to his car, about to go to work.  So far police do not have any suspects or leads in the apparently random shooting.  Video of the interview inside… Read more

Based on an affiliate agreement struck last year, Hearst-owned KSBW will begin a new ABC broadcast in addition to its regular NBC programming in the Salinas, CA area.

On top of the usual roster of “Modern Family” and “Dancing with the Stars,” the new channel, dubbed CCABC for Central Coast ABC, will offer local news. CCABC’s newscasts will be produced by the KSBW news team and operations will be housed within the same building.

As the Santa Cruz Sentinel points out, CCABC will fill a major whole in the local TV dial. For decades, area viewers have relied on San Francisco’s KGO for ABC programming.

“Unlike an out-of-town ABC station, you’ll get local news and emergency information on Central Coast ABC from sister station KSBW,” KSBW president and general manager Joe Heston commented to the Sentinel.  CCABC will make its debut on April 18th.

KSBW, the NBC-affiliate for the Monterery-Salinas-Santa Cruz market, is set to become an ABC-affiliate as well.  The Hearst-owned station announced on Monday that it will begin carrying ABC programming on its digital sub-channel.

Historically, viewers in the Central Coast region have relied on KNTV in nearby San Jose for its ABC programming.  Now, as the result of a new affiliation agreement, KSBW will carry ABC’s regular programming, as well as syndicated shows, on its 8.2 digital channel.  In addition to ABC shows, the station will broadcast KSBW’s newscasts on the sub-channel.

“The Central Coast has never had a local ABC affiliate. Now we can bring viewers NBC shows, plus the great line-up from ABC,” said Joseph Heston, KSBW’s president and GM.  “Best of all, the #1 rated newscast in our region, ‘KSBW Action News 8,’ will be seen on both channels.”
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