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Jon Craig

Reporter

jon.craig@dailyvoice.com

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Pleasantville native Jon Craig is special editor for the Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess Daily Voice sites. He is also the primary reporter for Daily Voice Plus Politics in Westchester and Fairfield.

Jon graduated from Cornell University and received his master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Across a 35-year career, he's worked as a reporter for daily newspapers in Chicago, New York, Ohio & Washington, D.C and as managing editor for weekly newspapers in Rye, White Plains and Harrison.

Jon also writes periodically for the Cornell Chronicle.

Career Highlights:

  • Covered Metro-North train wreck that killed a motorist and five commuters, 2015
  • Researched state investigative project for PublicIntegrity.org, 2011-12
  • National MADD award for database analysis of repeat drunk drivers in Ohio, 2008.
  • Henry F. Guggenheim Fellow, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2010.
  • Sentenced to jail for protecting confidential sources (won on appeal), 1999.
  • Broke 30th anniversary story about Kent State shootings — using FBI records, resurrecting theory a student informant triggered fatal National Guard volley, May 2000.
  • Covered Ground Zero after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks.
  • Uncovered voting problems before & during presidential recount in Ohio, 2004.
  • Witnessed botched Death Row execution of Romell Broom in 2009, one of more than a dozen I covered; Wrote about three inmates whose death sentences were commuted to life without parole.
  • Won IRE, SDX and multiple national & state awards for series led by Erik Kriss investigating New York General Assembly. 1994.
  • Guest lecturer at universities in NY & Ohio. Taught Syracuse high school journalism class.
  • Co-authored IRE-award winning series on illegal restraints/beatings at juvenile detention centers. Gov. Mario Cuomo had NY inspector general confirm what Hart Seely and I found at Division for Youth & fired top directors, 1993.
  • Survived Air Force Kool School training at North Pole, 1996.
  • Covered Persian Gulf wars, including 2002 bomb missions from Turkey and stateside Army/Air Guard training. 1991.
  • Supervised overnight coverage of Pan Am Flight 103 after Libyan bomb killed 35 Syracuse University students over Lockerbie, Scotland, 1988.
  • Covered aftermath of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s fatal plane crash from Cape Cod, 1999.
  • Greeted Kurt Vonnegut Jr. as Cornell Sun sports editor during daily's 100th anniversary dinner in May 1980. 

Jon Craig's Contributions

News
Officials Urge Passage Of Rail Safety Bill At Deadly Westchester Crossing Officials Urge Passage Of Rail Safety Bill At Deadly Westchester Crossing
Officials Urge Passage Of Rail Safety Bill At Deadly Westchester Crossing VALHALLA, N.Y. -- With Metro-North's deadliest crossing as their backup, two state legislators called on the Senate to pass a rail safety bill. During a Frieday news conference on Commerce Street in Valhalla, Sen. David Carlucci, D-Clarkstown, and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, D-Greenburgh/Mount Pleasantarlucci & Abinanti Call on Senate to Pass Rail-Grade Crossing Safety Bill Their legislation (A.5235B/S.3458B) would require the State Department of Transportation to conduct a statewide study of level grade rail crossings. A spokesman for Metro-North said it had no comment on the legislatio…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Disaster Preparedness Training Offered In Pine Plains, Beekman, Amenia Disaster Preparedness Training Offered In Pine Plains, Beekman, Amenia
Disaster Preparedness Training Offered In Pine Plains, Beekman, Amenia This story has been updated. PINE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The first of a series of training sessions for citizens to prepare for and respond to any type of disaster was held Thursday May 12 at the Pine Plains Community Center. The training is free and open to the public. No pre-registration is required. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Each family receives a free Citizen Preparedness Corps Response Starter Kit. Other training sessions are planned later this month in Beekman and Amenia, and in June in the Town of Hyde Park. (See details below.) Thursday's Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response tr…

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by Jon Craig
Schools
Port Chester Latino Dinner Raises Money For College Scholarships, Charity Port Chester Latino Dinner Raises Money For College Scholarships, Charity
Port Chester Latino Dinner Raises Money For College Scholarships, Charity PORT CHESTER, N.Y. -- It may be Friday the 13th, but it's a lucky day at Port Chester High School where students are hosting their second annual Latinos Unidos International Dinner. Friday's fundraising meal -- which features tasty fare donated by about 15 of Port Chester's finest restaurants -- helps raise money for college scholarships.  The dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. "We will have Mexican, Peruvian, Indian, Italian and Ecuadorian food," said Rosa Pena, a teacher at Port Chester High School and advisor to the Latino Club at PCHS.  The cost is $10 …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Accidents Involving Bears Rise On Area Roadways Accidents Involving Bears Rise On Area Roadways
Accidents Involving Bears Rise On Area Roadways Most motorists are familiar with deer crossing signs. But how about bear crossings? Bear sightings used to be a rarity in the tri-state area. But sightings are at record levels this year,. This is particularly true near New York state's border with Connecticut along Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties, as reported here by Daily Voice. Now, New York state officials are beginning to track data on vehicle accidents involving bears. The latest report of a bear killed on area roadways came on May 2, when a small bear was found dead on a Taconic State Parkway median just south of Interstat…

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by Jon Craig
News
'Very Small' Fuel Spill Poses No Threat To Hudson River, State DEC Says 'Very Small' Fuel Spill Poses No Threat To Hudson River, State DEC Says
'Very Small' Fuel Spill Poses No Threat To Hudson River, State DEC Says TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -- State Department of Environmental Conservation officials Friday said there is no significant threat posed due to a "very small" fuel spill Wednesday in a brook near the Hudson River.  The state DEC received reports of a sheen in Andre Brook late Wednesday night. DEC spills staff responded Thursday morning and noticed a small sheen in the water, DEC spokeswoman Sarah Shepard said Friday. ?Please note that at the moment, there is no threat to the Hudson River," Shepard said. "Don’t know the source yet. It’s some kind of oil –we haven’t determined what y…

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by Jon Craig
Neighbors
40 World War II Veterans From Westchester Aboard Next 'Honor Flight' 40 World War II Veterans From Westchester Aboard Next 'Honor Flight'
40 World War II Veterans From Westchester Aboard Next 'Honor Flight' The Hudson Valley Honor Flight's 12th spring mission departs from Westchester County Airport early Saturday morning. For 63 area World War II veterans, the all-expense paid flight to Washington, D.C., will include a day full of memorable, heartwarming tours of military sites. A pre-flight ceremony begins at 7:45 a.m. at the airport off of Route 120 and Interstate 684 in the Town of Harrison. Their welcome home reception will begin about 8:45 p.m., also at the county airport. Saturday's flight includes 40 WWII veterans from Westchester County, five from Rockland County and one from Orange Co…

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by Jon Craig
Schools
Suspicious Man In Jeep Reported Near Rye Elementary School Suspicious Man In Jeep Reported Near Rye Elementary School
Suspicious Man In Jeep Reported Near Rye Elementary School This story has been updated. RYE, N.Y. -- A day after a suspicious man in a blue Jeep approached a child walking home from Osborn Elementary School, Rye City School District emailed parents and staff disclosing Tuesday's incident. Titled "Report of Suspicious Incident Yesterday," and released in a 1 p.m. email blast on Wednesday, Rye Superintendent of Schools Frank Alvarez wrote, "A parent reported a suspicious incident that occurred on Tuesday afternoon near Osborn School in Rye. A child was walking home from school near Boston Post Road and Osborn Road when a male in a blue…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Rye Brook Sues Port Chester Over Firefighter Layoffs Rye Brook Sues Port Chester Over Firefighter Layoffs
Rye Brook Sues Port Chester Over Firefighter Layoffs This story has been updated. RYE BROOK, N.Y. -- The Village of Rye Brook filed a lawsuit against the Village of Port Chester on Tuesday over its May 2 board vote to eliminate the paid fire department and eight career firefighters. One of Port Chester's career firefighters was regularly assigned overnight to a firehouse in Rye Brook, according to the villages' signed contract. The lawsuit claims a breach of contract due to those lost shared services, Rye Brook Mayor Paul S. Rosenberg said in an email to village residents. "We are saddened that we needed to take this extraordinary step…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Dutchess County Man Charged With Sexual Assaulting Underage Girl Dutchess County Man Charged With Sexual Assaulting Underage Girl
Dutchess County Man Charged With Sexual Assaulting Underage Girl POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- A 29-year-old man has been charged with sexually assaulting a child, Dutchess County Sheriff’s said on Thursday. The county Sheriff's Office arrested Jose Diaz of Poughkeepsie for the sexual assault of a child in connection with a string of incidents that occurred in 2014. Diaz was arrested on Tuesday as the result of an investigation by the Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Dutchess County Child Advocacy Center. Diaz is accused of sexually assaulting a female victim under the age of 13 over the course of several months in 2014.  No further details about the c…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Firefighters Respond To Explosion In Dutchess County Firefighters Respond To Explosion In Dutchess County
Firefighters Respond To Explosion In Dutchess County This story has been updated. LAGRANGE, N.Y. -- Firefighters responded to an explosion early Tuesday involving a food service truck in LaGrange. Numerous East Fishkill residents called at about 4 a.m., according to East Fishkill police, reporting a loud explosion noise which shook homes and rocked people out of bed.  No one was reported hurt, according to police. However, several homes were damaged due to a propane tank exploding on the food truck near Frieda Lane, according to Capt. John Watterson, a spokesman for the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office. No criminal activity is suspected at…

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by Jon Craig
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