Hannah Chinn

Hi! My name's Hannah.
I'm passionate about people, I love telling stories, and I'm always on the hunt for Philly's best noodle soup. This summer, I'm on the News team at Willamette Week; in the past, I've written stories for The Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC Philadelphia, and the Bryn Mawr College Communications department. I'm looking for full-time opportunities this fall.

Willamette Week •

Blindsided

In this city, you are twice as likely to die in traffic than to be murdered. Last week, a vehicle killed a Portlander for the 34th time in 2019, while police have recorded 15 homicides this year... The most ghastly deaths often make headlines and lead the local news broadcasts for a few days. But the lived reality of traffic violence lingers with the people who have endured it. Their lives have been upended by cars. And they think the city should do more.
Bryn Mawr Communications •

On Harry Potter's Birthday, A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Bryn Mawr's Hogwarts-Themed Dinner | Bryn Mawr College

“It looks a little like Hogwarts exploded in my office,” Richard Clow apologizes when I step through the door. He's not wrong. The first Hogwarts-based dinner that Bryn Mawr Dining Services hosted was eight years ago; they host one every four years. Themed “special dinners” have long been a staple of campus life, but in the fall of 2010, the managers were determined to do something that had never been done before.
Willamette Week •

Oregon Budgeted Millions of Dollars to Help Poor People Buy Electric Cars -- Eventually

In 2017, Oregon legislature passed an 0.5 percent tax on new car sales as part of a huge transportation package. Some of the proceeds were supposed to subsidize the purchase of electric cars, with special help for low-income residents. But the process of releasing rebates has been significantly delayed, thanks in part to a lawsuit by AAA to block the program. Some rebates are late, some are backlogged.... and the rebates for low-income Oregonians? They haven't been processed at all.
Willamette Week •

Was It Really Bigfoot in Oregon? FBI Testing Says No. One Sasquatch Expert Is Still Hopeful.

If you're not a Bigfoot enthusiast, you may not recognize Peter C. Byrne's name. But within the sasquatch-sighting community, he's kind of a big deal. A former big game hunter turned wildlife preservationist, he's led major explorations in search of Bigfoot, written several books, and earned a title as one of the "Four Horsemen of Sasquatchery." And he turns 94 this August, marking over 59 years of hunting the hairy hominid. "I'm still in it," he says, "but in a much milder way, so to speak."
The Philadelphia Inquirer •

In the digital age, zines of the ’90s are making an unlikely comeback

Short for magazines or fanzines, zines are low-budget, usually home-made publications, often covering a niche topic or interest. They originated in the 1960s, reemerged in the 1990s... and for years, served to connect readers, writers, and makers whose voices might otherwise go unrepresented in mainstream media. When the internet arrived, many predicted the end of zine culture. But several decades later, it appears they were wrong.
The Philadelphia Inquirer •

‘Overworked, undervalued’: Haverford College dorm assistants say their work deserves to be paid

At Bryn Mawr College, it's $2.5k a year. At Swarthmore College, nearly $8k. And at Haverford College, students are paid $0 for the residential support they provide. The institution cites the volunteer aspect of the program as consistent with its emphasis on self-governance -- but now, student organizers are criticizing the tradition as outdated and exploitative.
The Philadelphia Inquirer •

Immigrants find health — and home — in Philly’s Buddhist centers

The red-brick apartments on South Sixth Street squat side by side, braced against the wind and snow. An overturned blue armchair, missing two wooden legs, has crashed against a metal grate. A windblown plastic bag sends two sparrows flitting to the curb. But one step through the door of the red-and-gold temple on the corner of this South Philadelphia block, and all is instantly quiet.
NBC 10 Philadelphia •

"He's Just AWOL, Plain and Simple:" Election Official's Attendance Track Record Questionable

Amid all the hubbub surrounding the upcoming midterm elections, one critical player in Philadelphia is missing. That's Anthony Clark, one of the three city commissioners in Philadelphia. For the past few years, he's been conspicuously absent, both at the office and at the polls, prompting some to ask whether he’s really doing the work to justify his $138,000 salary.