Partly Cloudy 83°

Jon Craig

Reporter

jon.craig@dailyvoice.com

FOLLOW ON

Facebook Twitter Linkedin

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

Schools
Orange County Voters OK School Budgets, Except In One District Orange County Voters OK School Budgets, Except In One District
Orange County Voters OK School Budgets, Except In One District Every school district in Orange County, except one, approved proposed budgets for 2018-19 on Tuesday. Valley Central Schools encountered the lone loss, where taxpayers voted 987 to 849 against a proposed $104.2 million budget. The school district and Board of Education will now revise the spending proposal for a second vote before resorting to a contingency budget. In other Orange County school results: Chester School District voters approved a $27.6 million budget. Cornwall School District voters approved a $71.5 million budget. The school district also got the OK to set up a $5 million …

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Schools
Brewster Voters Reject School Budget; All Other Putnam Spending Plans OK'd Brewster Voters Reject School Budget; All Other Putnam Spending Plans OK'd
Brewster Voters Reject School Budget; All Other Putnam Spending Plans OK'd By just 119 votes, Brewster taxpayers defeated a proposed $99 million school budget on Tuesday. The vote was 808 against to 689 supporting next year's spending plan.  The school district and Board of Education will now have to come up with a revised budget for a second vote before resorting to a contingency spending plan.  Brewster voters, meanwhile, passed a ballot issue to borrow $754,000 and buy new school buses, by a vote of 835 to 660. In addition to passing their school budget, Mahopac voters gave the OK to borrow up to $1 million for new school buses Putnam Valley Schools were seek…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Schools
Dutchess Voters OK School Budgets Dutchess Voters OK School Budgets
Dutchess Voters OK School Budgets Every proposed school budget and ballot issue in Dutchess County was approved on Tuesday. Taxpayers from the following school districts approved proposed spending plans: Arlington, Beacon, Dover, Highland, Hyde Park, Marlboro, Millbrook, New Paltz, Pawling, Pine Plains, Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Spackenkill, Wappingers and Webutuck.  For more Daily Voice details on specific school ballot propositions, all of which were approved on Tuesday, click here. 

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Lifestyle
Westchester Teen To Perform At Carnegie Hall Westchester Teen To Perform At Carnegie Hall
Westchester Teen To Perform At Carnegie Hall Pianist Luca Gierlinger of New Rochelle, a student at Albert Leonard Middle School, will make his debut at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m. In addition to his prestigious Carnegie Hall invitation, Luca received a "gold" cash prize -- which means he got the top prize in his age division against international competitors. Luca also attends Mannes School of Music, Precollege division and is a student of Gena Raps. Luca will be performing along with other first place winners of Rondo Vanguard Competition.  First place winners of the annual Rondo Vanguard Competition, …

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Schools
Rockland Voters OK School Budgets, Except In One District Rockland Voters OK School Budgets, Except In One District
Rockland Voters OK School Budgets, Except In One District Every school district in Rockland County, except one, passed proposed school budgets for 2018-19 on Tuesday: East Ramapo taxpayers, by a vote of 3,342 to 2,728, rejected a proposed $237.3 million budget, which would have increased spending by 2.7 percent next year. The East Ramapo School District and its Board of Education now have to develop a revised budget proposal for a second vote. If that one is defeated, the district would revert to a contingency budget.  All other school spending propositions in Rockland County were approved by voters. A summary of those ballot issues was reported .…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Schools
Westchester Voters OK School Budgets, Except In One District Westchester Voters OK School Budgets, Except In One District
Westchester Voters OK School Budgets, Except In One District Every Westchester school district, except one, passed proposed school budgets on Tuesday: New Rochelle's $272.8 million budget, which would have raised spending by 5 percent next year, was defeated by a vote of 3,119 to 1,689.The results remain unofficial pending the counting of all affidavit ballots. The only other district to propose spending above the state-imposed tax cap -- Mamaroneck Union Free School District -- easily passed its proposed $138.9 million budget by a vote of 1,346 to 383. New Rochelle's District administration and Board of Education said they will begin working togethe…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Schools
Port Chester High Instructor Named 'Social Studies Teacher Of The Year' Port Chester High Instructor Named 'Social Studies Teacher Of The Year'
Port Chester High Instructor Named 'Social Studies Teacher Of The Year' Growing up, David Chepiga was fascinated by history. His father served in the Vietnam War and their home boasted many books and documentaries, which he studied. From a young age, he was inspired to figure out the world’s trajectory and was on a quest to learn why things became how they are. Last month, Chepiga’s passion was rewarded as he was honored by the Westchester Lower Hudson Council for Social Studies as the 2018 Outstanding High School Social Studies Teacher of the Year. “It’s pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s a shock to be recognized for something you enjoy doing every day while ther…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Schools
Walter Panas Students Earn 'What's Great In Our State' Recognition Walter Panas Students Earn 'What's Great In Our State' Recognition
Walter Panas Students Earn 'What's Great In Our State' Recognition Congratulations to the Walter Panas High School Warr;ors on being honored by the New York State Office of Mental Health in Albany at the "What's Great in Our State" forum.  The Panas high school altered the spelling of "Warriors'' because they embody advocacy and stand up for what they believe in and want to help “Stomp out the stigma of mental illness." The group uses the semicolon to support the “Semi Colon” project which was created to help survivors of suicide and to support suicide awareness. According to the organizers, the program was selected for "successful…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Schools
'Color of Water' Author James McBride Speaks At Pace Commencement 'Color of Water' Author James McBride Speaks At Pace Commencement
'Color of Water' Author James McBride Speaks At Pace Commencement James McBride, an award-winning author, musician, and screenwriter is this year’s honorary degree recipient and speaker for Pace’s Westchester undergraduate commencement on Wednesday, May 16. Graduation ceremonies began at 11 a.m. on the Pleasantville campus, 861 Bedford Road. McBride is a teacher and native New Yorker, born and raised in the Red Hook housing projects in Brooklyn, and later St. Albans, Queens. He is the eighth of 12 children.  McBride went to New York City public schools. He graduated from Oberlin College, where he studied music and communications and he earned a master’s …

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Lifestyle
Forgotten Westchester Civil War Hero To Be Honored On Memorial Day Forgotten Westchester Civil War Hero To Be Honored On Memorial Day
Forgotten Westchester Civil War Hero To Be Honored On Memorial Day Memorial Day was originally established as Decoration Day, to honor Civil War soldiers.  This month, the Village of Mamaroneck will honor a forgotten local Civil War veteran, Corporal Nicholas H. Hoyt, who was born in Mamaroneck and who lived there with his wife, Susan and their three children.  In 1861, Hoyt enlisted in the 5th New York Infantry and was promoted to the rank of corporal after the battle of Shepherdstown, W. Va. In nearby Sharpsburg, MD, Antietam National Battlefield was the site of a brutal Civil War battle. Hoyt died in 1863 following the battle of Fredericksburg. He is…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Prev Page 899 of 1107 897 898 899 900 901 Next
8,981 - 8,990 of 11,067 articles