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

Bear, Wild Animal Sightings Up In All Corners Of Westchester Bear, Wild Animal Sightings Up In All Corners Of Westchester
Bear, Wild Animal Sightings Up In All Corners Of Westchester WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Wildlife experts differ on the exact cause, but one fact everyone agrees on: There have been more sightings of wild animals in Westchester and neighboring counties in 2015 than in recent years. Whether it's the wetter, warmer weather, increased housing starts or heightened public attention, area police are receiving more reports of coyotes, foxes, deer and geese -- as well as encounters with bears and hawks. In recent months, there have been sporadic bear sightings from Yonkers' southern border with New York City, north to Yorktown and Connecticut. Accordi…
Wild Animal Sightings Up In All Corners Of Putnam Wild Animal Sightings Up In All Corners Of Putnam
Wild Animal Sightings Up In All Corners Of Putnam PUTNAM COUNTY, N.Y. -- Wildlife experts differ on the exact cause, but one fact everyone agrees on: There have been more sightings of wild animals in Putnam and neighboring counties in 2015 than in recent years. Whether it's the wetter, warmer weather, increased housing starts or heightened public attention, area police are receiving more reports of coyotes, foxes, deer and geese -- as well as encounters with bears and hawks. On June 6, a bear sighting canceled camping for several hundred families who planned to camp overnight at Mahopac High School during the Relay for Life, according …
Harrison Gets OK From State To Develop Beaver Swamp Wetlands Into A Park Harrison Gets OK From State To Develop Beaver Swamp Wetlands Into A Park
Harrison Gets OK From State To Develop Beaver Swamp Wetlands Into A Park This story has been updated. HARRISON, N.Y. -- New York state environmental officials have given Harrison permission to transform wetlands along Beaver Swamp Creek into a municipal park, ball field and walking trails. For years, the town of Harrison sought to develop "Project Home Run,'' but encountered litigation from neighbors whose yards flood during heavy storms, and from the City of Rye, which has argued that tampering with the flood plain could cause additional problems. Rye Mayor Joseph Sack said, "We are evaluating the commissioner's decision now." Beaver Swamp Brook runs …
Westchester Police Officer Recounts Rescue Of Driver From Fiery SUV Crash Westchester Police Officer Recounts Rescue Of Driver From Fiery SUV Crash
Westchester Police Officer Recounts Rescue Of Driver From Fiery SUV Crash GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- For Westchester County Police Officer Chris Gutierrez, responding to two or more car accidents is all in a day's work. But Thursday's tour-of-duty was all the more satisfying, Gutierrez told Daily Voice, because "everyone got out OK." Gutierrez, 35, had just begun his night shift when several motorists flagged him down about 4:10 p.m. along the southbound lanes of the Sprain Brook Parkway near Grasslands Road just past the Eastview exit in Greenburgh. The SUV careened off the parkway, through a guardrail, past thick bushes and trees before landing in a ditch. Guti…
Garrison's Pataki Misses Another Public Event, But This Time 'It's A Boy' Garrison's Pataki Misses Another Public Event, But This Time 'It's A Boy'
Garrison's Pataki Misses Another Public Event, But This Time 'It's A Boy' This story has been updated. COLD SPRING, N.Y. -- Presidential candidate George Pataki of Garrison had to skip a groundbreaking ceremony for a new senior housing and retail project in Philipstown on Wednesday for family reasons. Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell confirmed that Pataki's daughter, Emily, gave birth overnight to a son named Patrick Arthur. Pataki, a native of Peekskill, has several other grandchildren. The redevelopment of the former Julia D. Butterfield Hospital site attracted other prominent local residents, however, including Fox News President Roger Ailes and …
Larchmont Swimmer Named To College Scholar All-America Team Larchmont Swimmer Named To College Scholar All-America Team
Larchmont Swimmer Named To College Scholar All-America Team LARCHMONT, N.Y. -- Jack Spader, a 2011 graduate of Mamaroneck High School, was recently named to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America team. Brian Savard, athletic communications director for the State University of New York at New Paltz, where Spader swam competitively for the Hawks, said Spader finished his collegiate career with a 3.32 cumulative grade point average. The 2015 SUNY graduate majored in sociology and communications. Both of SUNY New Paltz women's and men's swim teams were named Scholar All-America this past season by achieving a team-wi…
New Private Park Dedicated For Public Use In Downtown White Plains New Private Park Dedicated For Public Use In Downtown White Plains
New Private Park Dedicated For Public Use In Downtown White Plains WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- White Plains elected officials joined developers on Thursday in dedicating the first privately-owned park with public access in Westchester County. Louis Cappelli, president of the Cappelli Organization, ,joined White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach, members of the Common Council and the Rev. Richard A. Kunz of Grace Church on Thursday to celebrate a new park built by Cappelli in the heart of downtown White Plains. The 11,000-square-foot park is located at Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street between Grace Church and Cappelli’s Renaissance Square development which includes …
Mayor Jumps Into Double Dutch Competition With White Plains Campers Mayor Jumps Into Double Dutch Competition With White Plains Campers
Mayor Jumps Into Double Dutch Competition With White Plains Campers WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Members of the Dynamic Diplomats of Double Dutch, most recently seen on NBC-TV’s “I Can Do That,” helped kick off the 36th season of the Brighter Futures Summer Camp on Thursday at Ridgeway Elementary School.  Every summer, Lifting Up Westchester -- formerly known as Grace Church Community Center -- has provided a four-week day camp program for about 100 homeless and at-risk children from across Westchester County.  Brighter Futures Summer Camp provides an educational and fun summer camp experience with a variety of athletic and artistic programs for children who migh…
County Aims To Revitalize Former Saw Mill River Restaurant In Greenburgh County Aims To Revitalize Former Saw Mill River Restaurant In Greenburgh
County Aims To Revitalize Former Saw Mill River Restaurant In Greenburgh GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Call him a romantic. First, he signed a new manager for the aging Playland Amusement Park in Rye. Now, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino wants to save the cobweb-covered Cantina Restaurant at V.E. Macy Park. It's the landmark along the Saw Mill River Parkway in the Town of Greenburgh that sticks out like a pile of rocks. On Wednesday, Astorino said he is looking for entrepreneurs with ideas to revitalize the stone and wooden structure and surrounding property at Woodlands Lake -- about one mile north of the Ashford Avenue exit in Ardsley. County governm…
Woman Charged With Animal Cruelty To Appear In Mount Pleasant Town Court Woman Charged With Animal Cruelty To Appear In Mount Pleasant Town Court
Woman Charged With Animal Cruelty To Appear In Mount Pleasant Town Court VALHALLA, N.Y. -- A 58-year-old dog owner has been charged with animal cruelty for dumping a neglected schnauzer last month after being identified by surveillance video. The SPCA of Westchester announced on Wednesday that it made an arrest in connection with the woman leaving the severely injured schnauzer named Roxy at the Valhalla Animal Hospital on the evening of June 18. Jean Regan, 58, of 3 Roberta Place in North White Plains was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty and abandonment of an animal, according to Ernest Lungaro, director of the SPCA's Humane Law Enforcement Unit. …
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