Jon Craig

Reporter

jon.craig@dailyvoice.com

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

Westchester High Team Wins Smart Mobile App Contest For 2nd Straight Year Westchester High Team Wins Smart Mobile App Contest For 2nd Straight Year
Westchester High Team Wins Smart Mobile App Contest For 2nd Straight Year MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- For a second consecutive year, Mamaroneck High School won a regional Smart Mobile App Competition involving more 250 students from than 30 high schools and colleges. The second annual Westchester County competition was held on Friday at Pace University. More details can be found by clicking here.  The "Rock Club" of Mamaroneck High School was the "Grand Prize" winning team in this year's #WestchesterSmart Mobile App Development Bowl awards. The top prize included $1,000 cash and Panasonic tech gear. Teams from eight high schools and colleges took hom…
New Details Emerge About Purchase College Gunman New Details Emerge About Purchase College Gunman
New Details Emerge About Purchase College Gunman HARRISON, N.Y.-- The gunman who forced Sunday night's lockdown of SUNY Purchase College was a non-student who got into a dispute with a student over a girl, eyewitnesses told Daily Voice. Classes resumed Monday morning after the campus was declared safe late Sunday night, as reported here earlier. The dust-up started at a dorm-sponsored barbecue block party, according to witnesses, when the girl’s unidentified boyfriend accosted the suspect for speaking “disrespectfully” to her.  The argument escalated into a shoving match. One of the hosts of the party, senior Josh Banks, said when he a…
Presidential Candidates Make Final Push For NY Primary Delegates Presidential Candidates Make Final Push For NY Primary Delegates
Presidential Candidates Make Final Push For NY Primary Delegates Republican and Democratic candidates are making their final rounds of campaign stops and radio appearances on Monday leading up to Tuesday's all-important New York primary election. Polling places are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday. The campaign for New York state's 247 Democratic delegates and 95 Republican delegates has been in full swing for three weeks, with Hillary Clinton of Chappaqua and Donald Trump of Manhattan leading their respective political parties in polling and delegate vote totals less than seven months before the November election. Clinton made a surprise visit on …
Federal Officials, Congressman Crack Down On 'Swatting' By Tracking Phones Federal Officials, Congressman Crack Down On 'Swatting' By Tracking Phones
Federal Officials, Congressman Crack Down On 'Swatting' By Tracking Phones Responding to pressure from U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, and U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat from Cold Spring, the Federal Communications Commission granted a waiver to the Middletown Enlarged City School District allowing identification of the phone numbers used for “swatting.” Swatting is a fairly recent criminal act in which a fake emergency is called in anonymously in order to prompt a massive police response to  a specific address.  Last year in Westchester County, swatting incidents in Rye and Eastchester prompted calls for harsher penalties and perpetrators. In Marc…
Verizon Strike Will Delay Service Calls, Says Union Leader Verizon Strike Will Delay Service Calls, Says Union Leader
Verizon Strike Will Delay Service Calls, Says Union Leader This story has ben updated. The massive strike that began on Wednesday against Verizon will be felt by millions of its phone, wireless and FIOS cable TV customers, according to a local union leader. "People who are going to be out of service are going to be out of service for awhile," said Anthony Pugliese, vice president for Local 1103 of the Communications Workers of America AFL-CIO. Nearly 40,000 Verizon union members walked off the job at 6 a.m. -- the nation's largest strike since 2011. Most of the striking workers service the company's landline phone business and FiOS broad…
Local High School Students Revved Up For Final Performances Of Pippin Local High School Students Revved Up For Final Performances Of Pippin
Local High School Students Revved Up For Final Performances Of Pippin PORT CHESTER, N.Y. -- If you missed Thursday night's debut of Pippin at Port Chester High School, you' still have xxx opportunities to see the production. About 75 student actors, musicians and crew members have a role in the popular musical. Josh Tenzer, a PCHS special education teacher, drama club adviser and producer of Pippin, said tickets can be purchased at the auditorium before the Friday and Saturday shows, which begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens. About 150 people enjoyed Thursday night's show, Tenzer said, and more than 250 are ex…
High State Math Testing Opt-Out Rates Reported In Westchester Schools High State Math Testing Opt-Out Rates Reported In Westchester Schools
High State Math Testing Opt-Out Rates Reported In Westchester Schools This story has been updated. WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- The first "opt out" rates on this week's standardized state math tests are coming in -- and like last year -- some of them are high. Ossining School District reported that the parents of 31 percent of its eligible students declined to let their children take this week's math tests, which began on Wednesday.  Last week, about 29 percent of Ossining's students opted out of the English Language Assessment test, according to school district officials. In Valhalla Union Free School District, nearly one-third of its middle schoo…
Cruz, Kasich, Trump, Pataki, Astorino Gather At GOP Gala In New York City Cruz, Kasich, Trump, Pataki, Astorino Gather At GOP Gala In New York City
Cruz, Kasich, Trump, Pataki, Astorino Gather At GOP Gala In New York City This story has been updated. NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Five days before Tuesday's all-important New York primary election, all five presidential candidates were in New York City on Thursday. Former New York Gov. George Pataki of Garrison -- who was an early candidate for president -- and Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, were among the 1,000 Republicans at the annual state Republican Party fundraising dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Pataki, a Garrison resident and Peekskill native, endorsed Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Thursday night in a live interview on FOX News, whil…
Westchester Pharmacy Sells Unclaimed Winning Lottery Ticket Westchester Pharmacy Sells Unclaimed Winning Lottery Ticket
Westchester Pharmacy Sells Unclaimed Winning Lottery Ticket HARRISON, N.Y. -- If you bought a Lottery ticket Wednesday April 13 at Trotta's West Street Pharmacy in Harrison, you may be a winner. The New York Lottery announced Thursday that a top prize winning ticket worth $30,470 was sold at Trotta's -- but no winner has stepped forward. The unclaimed Harrison prize won by matching five out of six numbers plus the bonus number, The winning numbers for the Wednesday April 13 Lotto drawing were 12-23-25-29-42-46 with a Bonus Number of 9. Winning tickets expire one year after the game’s drawing. It''s the second major winning lottery ticket sold at Tr…
After Winning Inaugural App Competition, Local High School Preps 7 Teams After Winning Inaugural App Competition, Local High School Preps 7 Teams
After Winning Inaugural App Competition, Local High School Preps 7 Teams MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Mamaroneck High School has entered seven teams in Friday's regional Smart Mobile App Competition competition at Pace University following last year's successful victory by a solo squad. The second annual Westchester County competition runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. More details can be found by clicking here.  Last spring, a group of Mamaroneck High students won awards for developing an app to support patients with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as their caregivers. This year, about 50 MHS students are playing a role in the design, modification and presentation of time-saving …
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