He began working at the Times-Herald Record in July 1980, and was assigned to cover stories in Sullivan County, New York for years.
His reporting was said to have a flair for sentimental human interest stories with an articulate and compassionate voice, mixed with wisdom, humor and old-fashioned journalistic muckraking.
He worked his way up to Executive Editor in 1999, covering the Hudson Valley, Catskill, Ulster and Orange County regions.
Levine died of a heart attack at home on January 14, 2007, and was survived by his wife (Ellen), four children, and a sister (Tedra).
Beginning in 2010, the fund sponsors an annual training for aspiring writers at The Mike Levine Workshop in Livingston Manor, New York.