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

Rye Police Seek Public's Help After Driver Grazed Pedestrian Near Harrison Rye Police Seek Public's Help After Driver Grazed Pedestrian Near Harrison
Rye Police Seek Public's Help After Driver Grazed Pedestrian Near Harrison RYE, N.Y. -- Rye police are asking for help tracking down details about a hit-and-run driver who grazed a pedestrian on Park Avenue near Rye's border with Harrison on July 29.  On Friday morning, Rye police set up a checkpoint on Park Avenue, and asked motorists if they could provide any details about the incident, in which no one was hurt. According to Lt. Robert Falk, an RPD spokesman, at 8:25 a.m. on Wednesday July 29, a pedestrian walking east on the grassy curbside area of Park Avenue was grazed by a vehicle near the Harrison Town Line.   The vehicle was described as a metallic …
Water Main Break Causes Street Closures, Cloudy Water In White Plains Water Main Break Causes Street Closures, Cloudy Water In White Plains
Water Main Break Causes Street Closures, Cloudy Water In White Plains WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- There is a water main break on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. between Quarropas Street and Martine Avenue, further snarling downtown traffic, White Plains city officials said Friday afternoon. Department of Public Works' crews isolated the break and stopped the water leak, according to officials at City Hall.. Residents who experience a loss of water or low water pressure should see an improvement shortly, a senior advisor to Mayor Thomas Road said at about 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The water is safe to use. It may appear cloudy. If it looks cloudy, residents are advised …
Rye High Senior Is Starting Pitcher In ESPN Televised Baseball Game Rye High Senior Is Starting Pitcher In ESPN Televised Baseball Game
Rye High Senior Is Starting Pitcher In ESPN Televised Baseball Game RYE, N.Y. -- Anyone TV channel-surfing at 5 p.m. on Saturday, can catch George Kirby, a former Rye Little League baseball player and current Rye High School standout live on ESPN 3 and Periscope as a starting pitcher in the Area Code Baseball tournament. Area Code Baseball is an elite sports event taking place in Long Beach, Calif. The 2015 tournament began on Aug. 4 and wraps up on Tuesday at historic Blair Field. For more New York-regiona details, including this year's roster, go here. The Area Code tournament pits eight teams from eight regions nationwide against one another. Tryouts…
Star Pitcher Honored At  Heritage Of India Festival At Kensico Dam Plaza Star Pitcher Honored At  Heritage Of India Festival At Kensico Dam Plaza
Star Pitcher Honored At Heritage Of India Festival At Kensico Dam Plaza VALHALLA, N.Y. -- Kumar Nabiar, a 2015 graduate of Mamaroneck High School and star baseball pitcher, was a special honored guest on Sunday during the 16th annual Heritage of India Festival at Kensico Dam Plaza. Nambiar was a member of the Mamaroneck Tigers' baseball team that won the Class AA State Championship. He was named 2015 Class AA State Player of the Year by the New York State Sports Writers Association. Nambiar will enroll at Yale University in the fall, where he will play for its baseball team. The Indian American Cultural Association of Westchester (IACAW) sponsored Sunday's …
Teens In Somers Build Altar, Pulpit For Pope's NYC Visit Teens In Somers Build Altar, Pulpit For Pope's NYC Visit
Teens In Somers Build Altar, Pulpit For Pope's NYC Visit SOMERS, N.Y. -- Cardinal Timothy Dolan inspected the woodwork of teenagers from Lincoln Hall Boys' Haven on Thursday in preparation for Pope Francis' visit to New York next month. Boys from the at-risk youth center affiliated with Catholic Charities described their progress building an altar, lectern and pulpit to be used during the Sept. 25 Papal Mass at Madison Square Garden. "I'm eager to see your work,'' Cardinal Dolan said as he met three boys-turned-carpenters from Ossining, New Rochelle and Long Island. "This is beautiful." "Will they be able to come to the Mass?'' Dolan asked…
Two Teenagers Charged After Slashing At Pleasantville Cottage School Two Teenagers Charged After Slashing At Pleasantville Cottage School
Two Teenagers Charged After Slashing At Pleasantville Cottage School PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. - Two teenagers were charged with gang assault and second-degree assault, both felonies, overnight in connection with a fight at the Pleasantville Cottage School. Police were called to the state-operated facility for troubled youths at 1075 Broadway at 12:07 a.m. Thursday. A 17-year-old boy was slashed with a box cutter on the forehead and on the left side of his neck, under his ear, Mount Pleasant police said. The boy was taken to an area hospital where he was treated and released after receiving stitches, police said. Lt. Robert Miliambro, a spokesman for the…
French-American School Loses Vote To Build New Campus In White Plains French-American School Loses Vote To Build New Campus In White Plains
French-American School Loses Vote To Build New Campus In White Plains WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The French-American School of New York fell one vote short of approval on Wednesday to build a new private K-12 campus on the former Ridgeway Country Club. After more than four years of revised proposals and debate, the White Plains Common Council, led by Mayor Thomas Roach, cast four votes in favor of FASNY's project, and three against it. However, a "supermajority" of five votes was needed to approve the special permit to allow the new school on the 128-acre site. FASNY, which operates schools in Scarsdale, Mamaroneck and Larchmont, released a statement afterward…
Police Chase In Harrison Ends On Westchester Avenue With Arrest Police Chase In Harrison Ends On Westchester Avenue With Arrest
Police Chase In Harrison Ends On Westchester Avenue With Arrest HARRISON, N.Y. -- State police said they have a man in custody Wednesday afternoon and were booking him in New Rochelle following a chase involving multiple police agencies. A state police spokesman said that the arrest resulted from a routine traffic stop along Westchester Avenue in Purchase. An unidentified suspect was arrested about 3 p.m. Wednesday after a short foot case, according to state police. Police from Harrison and the Westchester County Police departments also were involved. Check back to Daily Voice for more information as it becomes available.  
Rye Baseball Diamond Doubles As Set For Showtime 'Billions' TV Pilot Series Rye Baseball Diamond Doubles As Set For Showtime 'Billions' TV Pilot Series
Rye Baseball Diamond Doubles As Set For Showtime 'Billions' TV Pilot Series RYE, N.Y. -- A baseball game was in full swing on Tuesday in scorching 88-degree heat at Rye High School's home field.  But it was the Hawks against the Ravens (not the Harrison Huskies against the Rye Garnets) and it involved fictional Little League teams being filmed for episode three of a 12-part Showtime pilot. Yellow road signs marked "BLNS" -- insider code for "Billions" -- led film crews, trailer caravans and actors to Rye High/Middle School parking lots. Child actors from as far away as New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut flocked to the Rye athletic fields off Boston Post Ro…
Business Council Of Westchester Backs New FASNY Campus In White Plains Business Council Of Westchester Backs New FASNY Campus In White Plains
Business Council Of Westchester Backs New Fasny Campus In White Plains WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The Business Council of Westchester (BCW) urged its members on Tuesday to support a new French-American School of New York on the former Ridgeway Country Club. FASNY's request for a special permit to build the private elementary and secondary school campus goes to the White Plains Common Council at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, when a "supermajority" vote of at least five of seven members is required for the project to move forward. It's been in various stages of review since early 2011, as reported here by Daily Voice. In his message to BCW members, John Ravitz, executive …
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