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

White Plains Hires New Planning Commissioner White Plains Hires New Planning Commissioner White Plains Hires New Planning Commissioner
White Plains Hires New Planning Commissioner WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The White Plains Common Council unanimously approved the appointment of Christopher Gomez on Monday as city planning commissioner. Gomez was Port Chester's director of planning and development the past three years. He will start July 7 in the job that pays $145,000 annually. In Port Chester, Gomez was credited with leading the adoption of the village’s comprehensive plan, Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, and substantial zoning map and text amendments.  Gomez is a proponent of utilizing digital technology in real time to assist in the review of projects and …
Mount Pleasant Students Team Up & Learn At Taconic Outdoor Education Center Mount Pleasant Students Team Up & Learn At Taconic Outdoor Education Center Mount Pleasant Students Team Up & Learn At Taconic Outdoor Education Center
Mount Pleasant Students Team Up & Learn At Taconic Outdoor Education Center COLD SPRING, N.Y. -- With a cursory nod to the reality show "Survivor," Columbus Elementary School students took to the woods of the Taconic Outdoor Education Center last week to test their problem solving, communication and cooperation skills. The fourth graders from the Mount Pleasant Central School District had to solve a series of physical and analytical challenges that could only be accomplished with their combined effort.  Team leaders from the education center in Cold Spring led small groups of students through narrow wooded paths to the different "survivor" stations set up in sm…
Saw Mill River Parkway Crash Victim ID'd Saw Mill River Parkway Crash Victim ID'd Saw Mill River Parkway Crash Victim ID'd
Saw Mill River Parkway Crash Victim ID'd WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Westchester County police released the name of the man who died after being ejected from his Mazda on the Saw Mill River Parkway on Sunday. Armando Flores-Flores, 30, of White Plains, was driving south on the parkway near the I-87 interchange in Irvington when he tried to pass a Toyota mini-van and bumped into it, county police told .Daily Voice. Police believe the 11 a.m. collision caused Flores-Flores to lose control of his Mazda before he was ejected and fatally injured, a county police spokesman said. No one else was hurt. The southbound lanes of the S…
Albanian Heritage Festival A Big Hit At Kensico Dam Plaza Albanian Heritage Festival A Big Hit At Kensico Dam Plaza Albanian Heritage Festival A Big Hit At Kensico Dam Plaza
Albanian Heritage Festival A Big Hit At Kensico Dam Plaza VALHALLA, N.Y. -- Thousands of people jammed Kensico Dam Plaza on Sunday for the Albanian Heritage Festival. The annual festival featured authentic food, music, volleyball and soccer games, as well as dancing in traditional clothing.  But major thunderstorms and flash flooding cut the celebration short about 3 p.m., four hours before it was scheduled to end.  The event was sponsored by Westchester County Parks and Our Lady of Shkodra Church in Hartsdale. More than 50 children and teenagers from the church were eager to perform their dances, but were unable to due to the storms.
Mamaroneck Advances To States In Baseball Playoffs Mamaroneck Advances To States In Baseball Playoffs Mamaroneck Advances To States In Baseball Playoffs
Mamaroneck Advances To States In Baseball Playoffs ROCKLAND COUNTY, N.Y. -- Mamaroneck High School's baseball team outlasted Class AA defending champion Roy C. Ketcham on Saturday to win its first Section 1 championship since 2009. Defending Class A champion Rye High was not so lucky as its baseball team fell, 4-3, to Byram Hills on Saturday. Both Section 1 finals were played at Provident Bank Park in Pomona, N.Y. The victories by Byram Hills and Mamaroneck earn them spots in the State baseball tournament. State quarterfinals playoffs begin on Friday. With Mamaroneck's starting pitcher Jason Kreinces throwing a shutout through five i…
Ups, Downs For Mamaroneck Sports: State Tennis Champs, Lacrosse Loss Ups, Downs For Mamaroneck Sports: State Tennis Champs, Lacrosse Loss Ups, Downs For Mamaroneck Sports: State Tennis Champs, Lacrosse Loss
Ups, Downs For Mamaroneck Sports: State Tennis Champs, Lacrosse Loss This story has been updated. MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Mamaroneck High School's Hope and Courage Crawford are New York State tennis champions. The Crawford brothers, who moved to Mamaroneck from Georgia earlier this school year, won the State doubles championship on Saturday by a score of 7-5, 6-3 over Cold Spring Harbor. The State Championships took place at the USTA Billy Jean National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Hope Crawford is a sophomore at Mamaroneck High School and Courage is a freshman. The Crawfords defeated another pair of Westchester brothers, Jeremy and James Wei of Horace…
Rye Neck Softball Team Snags 1st Section 1 Championship Since 2002 Rye Neck Softball Team Snags 1st Section 1 Championship Since 2002 Rye Neck Softball Team Snags 1st Section 1 Championship Since 2002
Rye Neck Softball Team Snags 1st Section 1 Championship Since 2002 ROCKLAND COUNTY, N.Y. – It's been quite a season for Rye Neck High School's Joan Spedafino. On May 1, Spedafino became the winningest softball coach in Section 1 history, with her 447th career victory over 30 years, as reported here by Daily Voice. On Saturday, her team closed out the joyful month with an 8-2 Section 1 Class B victory over Valhalla. It gave Rye Neck its first sectional title since 2002, advancing the Panthers to State playoffs. During the regular season, the Panthers lost to Valhalla, 18-1. And last spring, Rye Neck lost the Section 1 final to the Vikings, who were f…
Some White Plains Residents Question Firing Of Public Works Commissioner Some White Plains Residents Question Firing Of Public Works Commissioner Some White Plains Residents Question Firing Of Public Works Commissioner
Some White Plains Residents Question Firing Of Public Works Commissioner This story has been updated. WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- This week's firing of White Plains Department of Public Works Commissioner Joseph "Bud" Nicoletti Jr. continues to attract criticism from some city residents. About 60 of his supporters attended Wednesday's special meeting at City Hall. NIcoletti showed up to watch the Common Council vote 5-2, with Mayor Thomas Roach casting the fifth vote to let him go after 30 years of employment with the city. He'd been DPW commissioner since 1992.. Longtime Democratic district leader Carry Kyzivat wrote Roach and other members of the Common Counc…
Greenburgh Supervisor Feiner Reflects On Al DelBello's Impact Greenburgh Supervisor Feiner Reflects On Al DelBello's Impact Greenburgh Supervisor Feiner Reflects On Al DelBello's Impact
Greenburgh Supervisor Feiner Reflects On Al DelBello's Impact TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -- Friends and associates of Al DelBello said the former Westchester county executive treated everyone with respect, inspiring them to become better people. They spoke at Tappan Hill Mansion Thursday during a memorial service for DelBello, 80, of Lewisboro who died on May 15.  "Al encouraged my involvement,'' said Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner. "He spoke at a rally I organized for bike paths. After he won his election as county executive, he invited me to be part of his honor guard at his first inauguration. And, he appointed me to his Bicycle Task Force. . . .He was…
Hundreds Attend Memorial Service For Former County Executive Al DelBello Hundreds Attend Memorial Service For Former County Executive Al DelBello Hundreds Attend Memorial Service For Former County Executive Al DelBello
Hundreds Attend Memorial Service For Former County Executive Al DelBello This story has been updated. TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -- Westchester County's economic comebacks of the past half century were retold by Alfred DelBello's son and 11 of his closest colleagues at a memorial service. More than 300 people attended the celebration of DelBello's life at Tappan Hill Mansion. DelBello, 80, of Lewisboro became Westchester's first Democrat to serve as county executive in 1973 and was reelected twice. He served as lieutenant governor for three years during the late Mario Cuomo's first term as governor. DelBello died May 15 from injuries suffered in a fall . Mario Cu…
10,641 - 10,650 of 11,056 articles