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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

News
$5M In Rail Upgrades Small Step For Train Safety, Westchester Widower Says $5M In Rail Upgrades Small Step For Train Safety, Westchester Widower Says
$5M In Rail Upgrades Small Step For Train Safety, Westchester Widower Says U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey detailed $5.2 million in railroad crossing upgrades during a news conference with federal officials Monday at the North White Plains train station. But the widower of Ellen Brody -- the 49-year-old Edgemont woman whose SUV collided with a train at Commerce Street in Valhalla last year -- called the measures "a small step toward overall rail safety" locally and nationwide. Alan Brody told Daily Voice that the U.S. remains far behind South Korea, Japan and other counties in modernizing its railroad system. The multi-million dollar fixes announced by Lowey "…

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by Jon Craig
Politics
Democrats Pick Village Trustee Candidates In Mamaroneck, Harrison Democrats Pick Village Trustee Candidates In Mamaroneck, Harrison
Democrats Pick Village Trustee Candidates In Mamaroneck, Harrison MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- The three village trustee candidates nominated by the Village of Mamaroneck Democratic Committee were leading a four-way primary runoff Tuesday night. According to unofficial returns from the Westchester County Board of Elections, the leaders were Victor Tafur Dominguez, an environmental lawyer and professor; with 467 votes;  Keith Waitt, a former chairman of the village budget committee, with 465 votes; and incumbent trustee Leon Potok, a retired financial adviser; with 434 votes. Local activist Stuart Tiekert was losing with 354 votes.  Three of the five seats on the …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Family Left Homeless By Fire In White Plains Family Left Homeless By Fire In White Plains
Family Left Homeless By Fire In White Plains This story has been updated. WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A family was left homeless, but escaped safely, from a fast-moving fire that destroyed their house at 15 Wyanoke St., authorities said on Monday. The fire, which broke out shortly before midnight, spread swiftly through the two-and-a-half story house. The home is located in a densely populated White Plains neighborhood near Oak Street and Highland Avenue, but the fire was quickly contained by firefighters. The fire's origin has not been determined. The cause remains under investigation, authorities said. Thursday afternoon, Wyanoke Street…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Rye Hires Pair Of NYPD Blues, Former Port Chester Firefighters Rye Hires Pair Of NYPD Blues, Former Port Chester Firefighters
Rye Hires Pair Of Nypd Blues, Former Port Chester Firefighters RYE, N.Y. -- During an upbeat, optimistic City Hall ceremony, Rye welcomed two new police officers and two new career firefighters -- including the first woman in the history of the Rye Fire Department. The 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were mentioned by several public officials who were at the World Trade Center that day -- including Rye Mayor Joe Sack. "It's still hard to believe and it still breaks you up,'' Sack said. The timing and significance of Friday's swearing-in ceremony was clear to the new hires and audience of about 100 family, friends, fellow …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Purchase College President Thanks Campus Community For Uniting After Fire Purchase College President Thanks Campus Community For Uniting After Fire
Purchase College President Thanks Campus Community For Uniting After Fire This story has been updated. PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Purchase College's president thanked area firefighters, State University of New York staff, university police and the campus community for uniting in the aftermath of Sunday's dormitory fire which displaced 25 students. The four-alarm fire, which remains under investigation but is not considered suspicious, broke out about 10 p.m. inside an apartment-style dorm called the Commons. About 25 residents in the K Street apartment escaped safely, according to SUNY Purchase officials. Firefighters from Armonk, Harrison, Purchase, West Harrison, the …

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by Jon Craig
News
White Plains Recalls 9-11 Victims On 15th Anniversary Of Terrorist Attacks White Plains Recalls 9-11 Victims On 15th Anniversary Of Terrorist Attacks
White Plains Recalls 9-11 Victims On 15th Anniversary Of Terrorist Attacks On the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, communities throughout the Hudson Valley are remembering more than 160 of their residents who died in New York City. Daily Voice previously reported on ceremonies planned Sept. 9 through Sept. 17 to remember first responders, people in the WTC towers and U.S. serviceman who lost their lives during battles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Links to those events can be found by clicking here for Westchester County, here for Putnam County, here for Rockland and here for Dutchess.  Here is a list of …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Police Release ID Of Driver Killed In I-684 Rollover In Harrison Police Release ID Of Driver Killed In I-684 Rollover In Harrison
Police Release ID Of Driver Killed In I-684 Rollover In Harrison HARRISON, N.Y. -- State police released the name Friday of the 65-year-old Yonkers man killed in a rollover crash on Interstate 684 on Thursday. Jose A. Catala died when his 1999 Mitsubishi Montero inexplicably left the road and rolled over in a wooded area along I-684 near Interstate 287, state police said. The one-car crash occurred at 11:04 a.m. State police from the Somers barracks responded to mile post marker 1.6. Police have not said if a medical condition or distraction contributed to Catala's fatal crash. An investigation revealed that Catala was traveling southbound in the left …

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by Jon Craig
News
Westchester County, Many Towns Mark 15th Anniversary Of 9-11 Westchester County, Many Towns Mark 15th Anniversary Of 9-11
Westchester County, Many Towns Mark 15th Anniversary Of 9-11 As the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attack on New York City nears, a number of communities plan ceremonies to remember area residents killed on Sept. 11, 2001. In addition to Westchester County's ceremony at Kensico Dam in Valhalla at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11, these other local memorials are planned: -- The Town of Cortlandt and villages of Buchanan and Croton-on-Hudson will hold a 2 p:m. ceremony on Sept. 11 at Croton Landing. Dedicated during the ceremony will be an expanded memorial called "Reaching Through The Shadows," which includes a functioning sundial and steel beam from t…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Rollover Crash Kills 65-Year-Old Yonkers Man On I-684 Near I-287 Rollover Crash Kills 65-Year-Old Yonkers Man On I-684 Near I-287
Rollover Crash Kills 65-Year-Old Yonkers Man On I-684 Near I-287 This story has been updated.HARRISON, N.Y. -- A 65-year-old man from Yonkers was killed on Thursday morning when his car rolled over on southbound I-684 as it approached I-287, state police said. State police said they were in the process of notifying the driver's family, so had not released his name.  Trooper Melissa McMorris said there were no passengers in the Yonkers man's car, which crashed in Harrison. "The driver exited the roadway for an unknown reason," McMorris said.  Emergency responders from multiple neighboring municipalities, including EMS units, responded to the a…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Rye Man Charged With Felony 'Intent To Sell' Painkiller Pills Rye Man Charged With Felony 'Intent To Sell' Painkiller Pills
Rye Man Charged With Felony 'Intent To Sell' Painkiller Pills RYE, N.Y. -- Police said Thursday that they have arrested a 24-year-old Rye man on drug possession charges with the intent to sell, a Class B felony. Rye Police Commissioner Michael C. Corcoran Jr. said that police arrested Brian Levinson on Wednesday with more than 100 prescription painkiller pills including Oxycodone and a small amount of Suboxone.  Levinson was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, a felony. Levinson was arraigned and released on $2,000 bail. In a statement, Corcoran said, “This arrest is a result of outstanding in…

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by Jon Craig
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