Keith Hamm

Contributor at Santa Barbara Independent

Freelance Writer at Freelance

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Articles

Bear ecologist offers insight on recent sightings on and around campus

1 week ago | news.ucsb.edu | Keith Hamm

May 9, 2025 A series of recent black bear sightings has the UC Santa Barbara campus and surrounding community buzzing with news and social media coverage. While the growing number of sightings — thought to be two bears over the past three weeks or so — is unprecedented in recent memory, it’s not unusual for black bears to explore busy urban and residential areas, especially this time of year.
Bren School bear ecologist offers insight on recent sightings on and around campus

1 week ago | news.ucsb.edu | Keith Hamm

May 9, 2025 A series of recent black bear sightings has the UC Santa Barbara campus and surrounding community buzzing with news and social media coverage. While the growing number of sightings — thought to be two bears over the past three weeks or so — is unprecedented in recent memory, it’s not unusual for black bears to explore busy urban and residential areas, especially this time of year.
Opera archive honoring famed Italian tenor donated to library

1 week ago | news.ucsb.edu | Keith Hamm

May 7, 2025 A recent archival donation to the Performing Arts Collection at UC Santa Barbara Library opens a new door for researchers, historians and opera fans with the establishment of the Enrico Caruso Jr. Collection, named for the son of legendary Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873–1921), a pioneer in the history of sound recording.
Giovanni Batz wins book prize for 'The Fourth Invasion'

4 weeks ago | news.ucsb.edu | Keith Hamm

The history of Guatemala is fraught with what Ixil Maya people refer to as a series of invasions. The first began 500 years ago with the arrival of Spanish colonizers. The second was the rise of the plantation economy in the late-19th century. The country’s third invasion was tied to state-sponsored genocide during more than three decades of civil war.
Winner of Second Chance round advances to Grad Slam campus final

1 month ago | news.ucsb.edu | Keith Hamm

The stage is set for UC Santa Barbara’s final round of Grad Slam, an annual event that challenges graduate students to finetune their research, hone their public-speaking skills and take home some cash. Now in its 13th year, Grad Slam has always been marked by friendly competition and a wide variety of disciplines.
The Kitchen Island: From Behind the Scenes to Center Stage

1 month ago | independent.com | Keith Hamm

The backstory of today’s kitchen island has roots in the standalone scullery workstations of large estates in the 18th century. In the early 20th century, architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s open-plan homes blurred or eliminated physical barriers between kitchen, dining, and living spaces, with islands serving as important pieces of functional furniture for mingling and food prep.
Teamwork and grit earn ROTC cadets an invite to West Point championships

2 months ago | news.ucsb.edu | Keith Hamm

Beating 19 teams from schools across California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam, UC Santa Barbara’s Army ROTC Surfrider Battalion won the Ranger Challenge regional competition in February at Fort Hunter Liggett. The victory earned the team a historic first for UCSB — an invite to New York to compete in the championship event, the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition, held at U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Q&A: Jessica Risko Smith, Interior Designer

2 months ago | independent.com | Keith Hamm

Q&A: Jessica Risko Smith, Interior Designer Art and Creativity are All in the Family By Keith Hamm Thu Mar 06, 2025 | 12:04am Add to Favorites Jessica Risko Smith | Credit: Jennifer Yau After studying design and business at Auburn University in Alabama, Jessica Risko Smith started her career at a global commercial firm in Los Angeles, focusing, she says, on “design as a tool” to enhance business, productivity, and workplace satisfaction. In 2004, she landed in Santa Barbara and launched her...
Nuclear Radiation Harms Girls, Women Disproportionately

2 months ago | noozhawk.com | Keith Hamm

By design, the detonation of a nuclear weapon in a major city would be devastating. The explosion of intense heat and radiation would kill tens of thousands instantly — as it did during World War II in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That pivotal moment brought an end to the war, but the damage caused by the bombings has carried on through generations, particularly in girls and women exposed to the radiation.
Author Talk Targets Abortion Rights Backlash, Globalization

2 months ago | noozhawk.com | Keith Hamm

For more than three decades, global human rights scholar Alison Brysk has studied the drivers and responses to abuses of power, from domestic violence to dictatorships. Among the many issues on her human rights radar has been rising challenges to reproductive rights.