Jon Craig

Reporter

[email protected]

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

Valhalla Student Catches Bobcat On Camera Valhalla Student Catches Bobcat On Camera Valhalla Student Catches Bobcat On Camera
Valhalla Student Catches Bobcat On Camera This story has been updated. WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y.  -- This week's sighting of a bobcat in Hawthorne triggered new reports of bobcats captured on cameras or phones near North White Plains and Carmel. Liesa Alvarez, who lives in the Quarry Heights section of North Castle, said her 11-year-old daughter, Sofia, took a photo of a bobcat from the road near North White Plains on Feb. 28. (See attached image of it atop a snowy slope.) "It's blurry, but she captured the bobcat that had been by our house a few days earlier,'' Alvarez said. "Bobcats are indeed in our area. Lots of wildlife …
Carmel Family Sees Bobcat Chasing Deer Through Backyard Carmel Family Sees Bobcat Chasing Deer Through Backyard Carmel Family Sees Bobcat Chasing Deer Through Backyard
Carmel Family Sees Bobcat Chasing Deer Through Backyard CARMEL, N.Y.  -- This week's sighting of a bobcat in Westchester County triggered new reports of bobcats captured on phones or cameras in Putnam County as well as North White Plains. Jen Colamonico Beltrami of Carmel said her husband and their 8-year-old son saw a bobcat cross their yard off Ann Road on July 10.  Beltrami told Daily Voice it's the second time in eight years that a bobcat was spotted running through their yard. "Seven years ago, my son was a baby and I didn't have time to grab a camera,'' she said. During this month's sighting, Beltrami said her son saw it chasing …
Threat Of Closing Shelter Attracts Animal Lovers To Greenburgh Town Meeting Threat Of Closing Shelter Attracts Animal Lovers To Greenburgh Town Meeting Threat Of Closing Shelter Attracts Animal Lovers To Greenburgh Town Meeting
Threat Of Closing Shelter Attracts Animal Lovers To Greenburgh Town Meeting This story has been updated. GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Greenburgh Town Hall was packed on Wednesday night for an emergency meeting to save Pets Alive Westchester -- commonly known as the Elmsford animal shelter. The former Elmsford Animal Shelter was donated to Pets Alive for $10. On Saturday, Pets Alive officials announced plans to close the "no-kill" facility in 60 to 90 days due to building disrepair and declining revenue. .Fourteen people are employed by the shelter, which cares for 80 cats or kittens and about 80 dogs. Greenburgh Town Attorney Tim Lewis and Councilman Francis Sheehan,…
County Police Charge Four More Inmates With 'Promoting Prison Contraband' County Police Charge Four More Inmates With 'Promoting Prison Contraband' County Police Charge Four More Inmates With 'Promoting Prison Contraband'
County Police Charge Four More Inmates With 'Promoting Prison Contraband' VALHALLA, N.Y. -- Westchester County Police released the names of four more inmates charged Tuesday with promoting prison contraband in connection with recent drug overdoses at the County Jail. A total of 13 inmates had to be treated after ingesting synthetic marijuana known as 2chee, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said at a Tuesday morning news conference. That brings the total charged to six, including two other inmates who were charged on Monday before an overnight lockdown in which all 240 cells at the County Jail were searched by K9 units for drugs and related contraband…
County Jail Locked Down For Drug Search County Jail Locked Down For Drug Search County Jail Locked Down For Drug Search
County Jail Locked Down For Drug Search VALHALLA, N.Y. -- Westchester County Jail was locked down overnight Monday for "a top to bottom search" for drugs and other evidence of smuggling, County Executive Rob Astorino said at a Tuesday news conference at the jail. At least four more inmates "will be charged by the end of the day with promoting prison contraband,'' in addition to two inmates who were charged with the misdemeanor on Monday, according to Westchester County Commissioner of Public Safety George Longworth. A total of 13 inmates had to be treated for overdoses of a synthetic marijuana known as "2chee" The synthetic d…
Bobcat Caught On Camera, This Time By A Mount Pleasant Councilman Bobcat Caught On Camera, This Time By A Mount Pleasant Councilman Bobcat Caught On Camera, This Time By A Mount Pleasant Councilman
Bobcat Caught On Camera, This Time By A Mount Pleasant Councilman HAWTHORNE, N.Y. --  The first bobcat sighting in Westchester County since last fall was reported on Sunday along Warren Avenue in Hawthorne. Town of Mount Pleasant Councilman Nicholas DiPaolo said he spotted the bobcat about 3 p.m. on Sunday in his backyard at 140 Warren Ave. "I saw it stroll through very casually, stopping every few feet to look around,'' DiPaolo told Daily Voice. "It wandered into the woods east of Warren Avenue and a short while later several deer came running out of the woods." DiPaolo happens to live about two miles from County Executive Rob Astorino. DiPaolo sn…
Car Flips In Mamaroneck, Elderly Driver Taken To Hospital Car Flips In Mamaroneck, Elderly Driver Taken To Hospital Car Flips In Mamaroneck, Elderly Driver Taken To Hospital
Car Flips In Mamaroneck, Elderly Driver Taken To Hospital MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Mamaroneck village police responded to an accident Friday afternoon in which an SUV landed on its roof in the middle of Rockland Avenue. Sgt. Sandra DiRuzza, spokeswoman for the village police, said that about 3 p.m., several 911 were received about the one-car crash. DiRuzza said the driver, a 71-year-old Mamaroneck woman, suffered non-life threatening injuries. She was taken to the hospital, DiRuzza said. The cause of the accident is unknown at this time, DiRuzza said.
'Hidden In Plain Sight' Photo Exhibit Explores Architecture Of White Plains 'Hidden In Plain Sight' Photo Exhibit Explores Architecture Of White Plains 'Hidden In Plain Sight' Photo Exhibit Explores Architecture Of White Plains
'Hidden In Plain Sight' Photo Exhibit Explores Architecture Of White Plains WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- There's a new photography exhibit at the White Plains Public Library that gives a visual tour of the city's unique architecture. "Hidden in Plain Sight: Details of White Plains Architecture,'' by longtime city resident Barry Katzen, is on display at the library until August 2. The exhibit consists of 40 photographs that celebrate architectural details on the older buildings in downtown White Plains -- the types of details most people don't see as they rush around town. People who have seen the photos tell Katzen that they walk by the buildings every day, but never …
County Fire Academy Trains 60 New Volunteers, Nine New Career Firefighters County Fire Academy Trains 60 New Volunteers, Nine New Career Firefighters County Fire Academy Trains 60 New Volunteers, Nine New Career Firefighters
County Fire Academy Trains 60 New Volunteers, Nine New Career Firefighters MOUNT PLEASANT, N.Y. -- Nine fire recruits graduated Friday from the Westchester County Career Chiefs Fire Academy in Valhalla. The new professional firefighters were awarded their certificates during a graduation ceremony held at the Robert Schnibbe Jr. Support Services Building at the Department of Emergency Services. County Executive Rob Astorino and Emergency Services Commissioner John M. Cullen welcomed the new firefighter graduates. “It’s never easy to be a recruit in the Fire Academy but a class of nine is much smaller than usual.  Talk about having nowhere to hide," Astorino …
Rye Country Day School Graduate Appears On 'Jeopardy!' Rye Country Day School Graduate Appears On 'Jeopardy!' Rye Country Day School Graduate Appears On 'Jeopardy!'
Rye Country Day School Graduate Appears On 'Jeopardy!' RYE, N.Y. -- For Julia Lawrence, a 2002 graduate of Rye Country Day School, appearing on "Jeopardy!" on Friday night is a lifelong dream.  "It was the only item on my bucket list,'' Lawrence told Daily Voice on Thursday. "Jeopardy!" is celebrating its 31st year, and Lawrence turns 31 on Sunday, so it's fitting that her appearance on the game show, taped in April in Los Angeles will air at 7 p.m. Friday on WABC-TV. Five shows are taped in one day, and Lawrence's show was taped last, so she got to watch competitors as they advanced toward her Friday show. "Just to be in the company …
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