KSBY-TV (San Luis Obispo, CA)

At the Templeton Community Library, a little-known but powerful program is making reading possible for people who can't hold a book — from stroke survivors and veterans with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), to people with low vision or learning differences. “Reading would not have been anything that I would be able to do,” said Steve Tollesfson, who is visually impaired. Tollefson became partially blind after suffering from a stroke in his eye in 2010 and again in his other eye in 2014.

Santa Maria-based REACH 38 air medical crews will now carry blood on board their helicopter, allowing them to begin transfusions before critically injured patients reach the emergency room. The program is a partnership with Houchin Community Blood Bank, which delivered its first batch of units to the Santa Maria base on Tuesday.

People who live in south Santa Barbara County and receive our signal over the air are unable to watch KSBY News or other programs on our channel at this time. This is due to an issue with the transmitter. Our engineers are working to fix the issue, and we hope to have a signal restored soon. Thank you for your patience.

Hundreds of volunteers will be out on the streets of Santa Maria Valley on Wednesday morning, August 26 asking for cancer help donations. Dignity Health, partnering with the Santa Maria Times, is holding the 13th annual Day of Hope event, which will run from 7 a.m. to noon. Donations will benefit Marian Cancer Care patients at Mission Hope Cancer Center. A commemorative Day of Hope newspaper is given to people who donate at least $1.

Hot temperatures and elevated fire danger have Santa Barbara County firefighters on alert as a Red Flag Warning is in effect across parts of the county. “The Red Flag Warning is for the interior mountains and the adjacent foothills, and so also for the valley,” said Captain Mike Gray, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The political fight between the U.S. and Canada is now impacting your money, as the U.S. slaps 50% tariffs on a long list of Canadian goods. "What it actually means for Americans is a new 50% tax," said David Eby, British Columbia Premier. "It is a bizarre policy for Americans. It's going to hurt them." On the list of items set to get more expensive: Alcohol, dairy, clothing & home goods, and lumber and wood products.

U.S. Sen. Darline Graham won the Republican nomination to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham on South Carolina’s general election ballot. Darline Graham defeated U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman in Tuesday’s special Republican primary runoff, two weeks after they were the top two finishers in a 10-way primary. Despite being a political unknown, Darline Graham bested some of South Carolina’s top political names in the special election spun up after her brother’s sudden death last month.

A Grover Beach man has been sentenced to 73 years to life in state prison after being convicted of 20 felony counts for the years-long sexual abuse of three children and one woman. The children were between the ages of 6 and 12 years old during the abuse. George Rodriguez Recio, 74, is also prohibited from contacting the victims and is ordered to register as a sex offender for life. Three of the victims attended Recio's sentencing hearing and addressed the court.

Good evening, Central Coast! I hope you are all staying cool and hydrated as these temperatures continue to rise. The low humidity in some areas is causing dry weather in parts of the Central Coast, mix that with wind gusts, and we have red flag warnings for fires. We are seeing smoke from the Timber fire in Monterey County make its way into SLO this afternoon. With the heat and smoke, take care if you are working outside.

California requires up to 100 feet of defensible space around homes in high fire-risk areas, with new Zone Zero rules now being phased in for existing homes. During Zone Zero inspections, fire crews are looking for anything that could give wind-driven embers a chance to ignite a home, including dry leaves, vegetation, wood mulch and firewood.