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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

Politics
Mount Pleasant Town Council Faces First Democratic Challenge In A Decade Mount Pleasant Town Council Faces First Democratic Challenge In A Decade
Mount Pleasant Town Council Faces First Democratic Challenge In A Decade MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y. -- After beating a challenge to his candidacy petitions, Wayne McPartland, a retired New York Fire Department battalion chief, is the first Democrat seeking a seat on the Mount Pleasant Town Council in 10 years. In fact, the five-member town council has been represented entirely by Republicans for decades.  McPartland told Daily Voice that he hopes to change that. "After 20 years of Republican rule, they don't want my opposition,'' McPartland, 64, of Pleasantville said on Friday. Last week, the Westchester County Board of Elections rejected a complaint from a tow…

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by Jon Craig
News
PetSmart Offers Free Cat Adoptions During National 'Clear The Shelters' Day PetSmart Offers Free Cat Adoptions During National 'Clear The Shelters' Day
PetSmart Offers Free Cat Adoptions During National 'Clear The Shelters' Day GREENBURGH, NY -- Posh Pets Rescue, a group of local volunteers, is teaming up with the PetSmart store at Crossroads Shopping Center on Saturday to give away three dozen vaccinated cats. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., cats and kittens will be waiting for prospective owners during a free adoption day at PetSmart, 369 Tarrytown Road in Greenburgh. It's part of a national "Clear The Shelters" effort, according to Courtney Massena of Hartsdale, a volunteer with Posh Pets Rescue. Massena said all of the cats/kittens have been spayed/neutered, FLV and FIV negative, have received FVRCP vaccination…

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by Daily Voice
Sports
Rye High Pitcher Shines During West Coast Classic Rye High Pitcher Shines During West Coast Classic
Rye High Pitcher Shines During West Coast Classic RYE, N.Y. -- Rye High School pitcher George Kirby shined on Saturday during a nationally-televised baseball tournament featuring some of the nation's best high school players. Daily Voice previously reported about Kirby's appearance as starting pitcher in the Area Code Baseball game here. Because it's a so-called "scouting combine" players only got an opportunity to pitch three innings per game.  Kirby, who will be a senior at RHS this fall, allowed no hits while striking out two batters and walking three. Kirby's pitches were measured at traveling between 87 and 92 mph.  The tour…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Men Charged With Stealing Cars From Hartsdale Men Charged With Stealing Cars From Hartsdale
Men Charged With Stealing Cars From Hartsdale GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Surveillance of cars parked in the Bronx led to the arrest of two men in connection with cars reported stolen from Hartsdale and Yonkers, according to Greenburgh police. The Bronx men are now suspects in a wider investigation of larcenies from vehicles and cars stolen throughout Westchester County, police said on Thursday. Naquan Johnson, 19, and Jose Canales, 20, both of 658 East 234st St. in the Bronx, were charged with third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a felony, and held pending arraignment in the Bronx, police said.  Members of the Greenburg…

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by Jon Craig
Lifestyle
Putnam Valley Farmers Market Is DVlicious Finalist Putnam Valley Farmers Market Is DVlicious Finalist
Putnam Valley Farmers Market Is DVlicious Finalist PUTNAM VALLEY, N.Y. -- There's a popular catch-phrase: “Know your farmers, know your food." And there's nowhere better to get up close and personal with your local purveyors than at a farmers market. You picked three among the best in Putnam County, each of which have been profiled this week.  Go here to vote for your favorite; you can only vote once. The DVlicious contest ends at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14 with the winner announced at the end of the month. Below is the "dirt" on one of the finalists. Putnam Valley Farmers Market,Tompkins Corners Cultural Center (TCCC),  729 Peekskill…

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by Daily Voice
Schools
Ardsley Middle School Hires New Principal With Nearly 30 Years Experience Ardsley Middle School Hires New Principal With Nearly 30 Years Experience
Ardsley Middle School Hires New Principal With Nearly 30 Years Experience This story has been updated. ARDSLEY, N.Y. -- A school administrator with nearly 30 years of experience has been hired as the new interim principal at Ardsley Middle School. The Ardsley Board of Education appointed JoAnne Januzzi to the opening effective Aug. 24. Januzzi replaces Edgar McIntosh who left Ardsley to become director of curriculum for the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. Januzzi comes to the Ardsley Union Free School District after serving as principal at Henry H. Wells Middle School in the Brewster Central School District, principal of Tuckahoe High Schoo…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
White Plains Man, 34, Killed On Train Tracks ID'd White Plains Man, 34, Killed On Train Tracks ID'd
White Plains Man, 34, Killed On Train Tracks ID'd This story has been updated. WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A 34-year-old man struck and killed by a train on Tuesday night has been identified as Gacel L. Machado of White Plains, according to Metropolitan Authority Police. Machado was struck by a southbound train at 8:52 p.m. Tuesday just south of the White Plains railroad station. The locomotive engineer told police that Machado walked out from a wooded area west of the tracks and laid on the track in the path of the train, according to Metro-North spokesman Salvatore Arena. The fatal accident caused delays of up to an hour on northboun…

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by Jon Craig
News
Water Main Break Reported Near Payne Street In North Elmsford Water Main Break Reported Near Payne Street In North Elmsford
Water Main Break Reported Near Payne Street In North Elmsford GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- A water main break was reported Wednesday morning near Payne Street in North Elmsford. Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner said a Con Edison crew accidentally hit the water main while performing gas main. "There are going to be low pressure issues, in addition to some businesses and residences that will be out of water until the repair is made,'' Feiner said. Elmsford Mayor Robert Williams said the village had experienced no problems with traffic or water pressure due to the main break as of 10 a.m. Wednesday. Daily Voice will provide updates on the repair work. …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Distracted Driving Crashes Far More Frequent Than Previously Counted Distracted Driving Crashes Far More Frequent Than Previously Counted
Distracted Driving Crashes Far More Frequent Than Previously Counted This story has been updated. WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Car crashes are the leading cause of death for American teenagers, but a new study suggests a far bigger problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which uses statistics based on police reports, previously estimated that teen distracted driving constituted 14 percent of all collisions. However, a study released in March by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety -- which used live footage instead of police reports -- found a 400 percent increase, concluding that distraction was a factor in nearly 6 out of 1…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Greenburgh Police Make Four Massage Parlor Arrests In White Plains Greenburgh Police Make Four Massage Parlor Arrests In White Plains
Greenburgh Police Make Four Massage Parlor Arrests In White Plains GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Four residents of Queens, N.Y., were arrested on Friday at the Foot Spa in White Plains for the "unauthorized practice of a profession" while offering massage therapy. Members of Greenburgh Police Department's Street Crime Unit completed an investigation into a massage parlor located at 332 Tarrytown Road (Route 119), a police spokesman said on Monday. In a related arrest, a manager at Foot Spa was charged with "aiding and abetting three or more unlicensed massage therapists,'' police said. Mi Xu, the 24-year-old acting manager who resides at 34th Avenue in Flushing,…

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by Jon Craig
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