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 First Responders Get Training In Classes Prompted By Sandy Hook Westchester First Responders Get Training In Classes Prompted By Sandy Hook
Westchester First Responders Get Training In Classes Prompted By Sandy Hook WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- More than 200 police officers, teachers, firefighters and other first responders attended crisis training at Westchester County Center on Tuesday. It's the newest phase of specialized classes proposed last year by County Executive Rob Astorino in response to the fatal school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012. The training -- led by specialists and members of the county Departments of Health, Community Mental Health and Public Safety -- is offered free to all Westchester municipalities.  Tuesday's training focused on defusing si…
Good Counsel Witnesses Another Protest Against Sale Of White Plains School Good Counsel Witnesses Another Protest Against Sale Of White Plains School
Good Counsel Witnesses Another Protest Against Sale Of White Plains School This story has been updated. WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- About 150 parents, students and faculty from Good Counsel Academy held another protest outside the campus Monday, decrying the expected sale of the school's property at 52 N. Broadway in White Plains. News of the proposed closing of the Catholic school came after Good Counsel nuns retained a real estate firm to try to market the property due to many of the nuns getting older.  The school may relocate to New Rochelle, but many students have said that's not an option for them. The Sisters of the Divine Compassion, which founded the …
Rye Students Evacuated After 'Bomb Threat' Note Found In Boys Bathroom Rye Students Evacuated After 'Bomb Threat' Note Found In Boys Bathroom
Rye Students Evacuated After 'Bomb Threat' Note Found In Boys Bathroom RYE, N.Y. -- Rye's high school and middle school were evacuated for about two hours Tuesday after a note carrying the threat of a bomb was found in a boys bathroom. Students and parents said the second-floor bathroom in RHS remained taped off as a crime scene Tuesday afternoon. Neither school officials nor police have detailed the origin of the bomb scare. By coincidence, the high school was evacuated about 8:30 a.m. due to a minor kitchen fire. The full school was evacuated about 9:30 a.m. due to the bomb threat, according to a letter from Rye Schools Superintendent Frank Alvarez…
Ellen Page, Julianne Moore Film 'Freeheld' At Rye Brook Gas Station Ellen Page, Julianne Moore Film 'Freeheld' At Rye Brook Gas Station
Ellen Page, Julianne Moore Film 'Freeheld' At Rye Brook Gas Station RYE BROOK -- A Shell station at the corner of Ridge Street and Bowman Avenue was the scene Tuesday for the movie "Freeheld,'' starring Steve Carell, Julianne Moore and Ellen Page There was no sign of Carell Tuesday afternoon, but Moore and Page hopped in and out of a pickup truck during several takes of one scene. Moore, 53, normally a redhead, was sporting a very blonde look Tuesday. Page, 27, who was driving the pickup truck, shouts "A--hole, move your car,'' jumps out and appears to confront a motorist parked directly in front. (But she returns to her truck carrying a cup of coffe…
Lowey Praises Ebola Preparedness Level, But Blasts Congress For CDC Cuts Lowey Praises Ebola Preparedness Level, But Blasts Congress For CDC Cuts
Lowey Praises Ebola Preparedness Level, But Blasts Congress For CDC Cuts VALHALLA, N.Y. -- After an hour-long meeting with regional hospital directors Monday, U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey praised the level of preparedness for an Ebola outbreak but lashed out at the Republican-led Congress for cutting federal money aimed at fighting deadly diseases. During a news conference at the Westchester County Medical Center, Lowey, a Democrat from Harrison and the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, said Congress cut $755 million last year in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A link to the proposed cuts can be found here. Various CDC…
Astorino Says Cuomo 'Refuses To Take Action' On Ebola Astorino Says Cuomo 'Refuses To Take Action' On Ebola
Astorino Says Cuomo 'Refuses To Take Action' On Ebola WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- County Executive Rob Astorino was joined by U.S. Rep. Peter King on Monday in renewing their call for JFK International and other area airports to close their gates to any incoming passengers from three West African nations suffering from Ebola outbreaks. Astorino, the Republican candidate for governor, said Gov. Andrew Cuomo should stop his book-signing tour promoting his autobiography "All Things Possible" and instead order state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker to make it less possible for Ebola to spread to New York via its airports. "It is incumbent…
Harrison Stores Deck Out Windows For Halloween Season Harrison Stores Deck Out Windows For Halloween Season
Harrison Stores Deck Out Windows For Halloween Season HARRISON, N.Y. -- Dozens of youngsters and their parents lined the streets and shopping centers of the village of Harrison on Sunday, Oct. 19, to add their creativity to storefronts. The annual window-painting project is sponsored by the Harrison Recreation Department. The Daily Voice will be adding more images as we work our way down and around Harrison and Halstread avenues. John and Sandy Reali helped their twin sons, Luca and Massimo, paint the windows outside Mamma Sophia Pizza Restaurant on Sunday. "They love it,'' John Reali said. "They do it every year."
Israeli Official Offers Hope In Harrison Talk About A High-Tech Future Israeli Official Offers Hope In Harrison Talk About A High-Tech Future
Israeli Official Offers Hope In Harrison Talk About A High-Tech Future HARRISON, N.Y. -- After a tumultuous summer for Israel, Knesset member Erel Margalit offered hope for his country's future as an economic engine during a recent talk at the Jewish Community Center of Harrison. Margalit, a 53-year-old global venture capitalist, is an architect of Israel becoming the "Start-Up Nation,'' helping start more than 100 companies. Elected last year to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, as a Labor Party member, some think Margalit might run for Israeli prime minister. The founder of Jerusalem Venture Partners, a billion dollar firm, Margalit said economic develop…
Mamaroneck Ice Rink Reopens To Smiles, Spills After Renovation Mamaroneck Ice Rink Reopens To Smiles, Spills After Renovation
Mamaroneck Ice Rink Reopens To Smiles, Spills After Renovation MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Hundreds of smiling children hustled onto Hommocks Ice RInk on Sunday and went slip, sliding away as parents and grandparents looked on. The town's popular rink reopened after a six-month renovation project. There was plenty of food and chances to win door prizes. Skating also was free on Sunday.. "Welcome to the official grand opening of the renovated, upgraded, refurbished Town of Mamaroneck Hommocks Ice Rink,'' said Town Supervisor Nancy Seligson,who cut a red ribbon with Councilwoman Jaine Elkind Eney. Seligson noted that Hommocks Ice Rink "is one of our favor…
Senate Candidate Dillon Gains Backing of State PBA Group Senate Candidate Dillon Gains Backing of State PBA Group
Senate Candidate Dillon Gains Backing of State PBA Group WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Republican Joe Dillon of Yonkers received the endorsement Thursday, Oct. 16, of the New York State Association of PBAs, according to a press statement. Dillon is challenging state Sen. George Latimer, a Democrat from Rye, for the 37th District seat in the Nov. 4 election.  The association represents more than 45,000 police and law enforcement officers, making it the largest police organization in the Empire State. “It’s with great respect and gratitude that I accept the endorsement of the Association of PBAs,'' Dillon said. "To know I have the support of the 45,00…
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