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Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

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Equal parts Lois Lane, J. Jonah Jameson and Vicki Vale, Zak! has traveled from coast-to-coast covering small and big town community news in both in print and online for nearly a decade since his graduation from the award-winning Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in 2010.

Before settling into the Hudson Valley, Zak! previously spent time in the New York Daily News newsroom and worked for hyperlocal digital news outlets on Long Island. He wrote sports for The Ithacan and The Ithaca Journal before taking his talents to the Pacific Northwest, where he served as the sports editor at the Shoshone News-Press until heading back east to work with Daily Voice.

Zak Failla's Contributions

Politics
Clock Ticking On Public Comments For Controversial Maryland ICE Detention Center Clock Ticking On Public Comments For Controversial Maryland ICE Detention Center
Clock Ticking On Public Comments For Controversial Maryland ICE Detention Center Time is running out for Maryland residents hoping to weigh in on a proposed 1,500-bed ICE detention center that has sparked months of controversy in Washington County. The federal public comment period on the Department of Homeland Security's plan to convert an 825,000-square-foot warehouse near Williamsport into an immigration detention center closes at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30. Ahead of the deadline, Hagerstown Rapid Response and Washington County Indivisible say their campaign has generated more than 3,000 public comments opposing the project, which organizers believe represents on…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
16-Year-Old Gunned Down At Popular Maryland Community Center In Broad Daylight: Police 16-Year-Old Gunned Down At Popular Maryland Community Center In Broad Daylight: Police
16-Year-Old Gunned Down At Popular Maryland Community Center In Broad Daylight: Police A 16-year-old was gunned down at a popular community hotspot in Maryland in the middle of the day, police say. Silver Spring native Angel Guzman has been identified by the Prince George's County Police Department as the person who was shot and killed at the Langley Park Community Center on Friday afternoon. At around 1:30 p.m. on June 26, officers were called to investigate reports of shots fired in the 1500 block of Merrimac Drive. Upon arrival, they found Guzman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say they do not believe it was a ra…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
WATCH: First Responders Form Human Chain To Rescue Driver From Sinking Virginia Car WATCH: First Responders Form Human Chain To Rescue Driver From Sinking Virginia Car
Watch: First Responders Form Human Chain To Rescue Driver From Sinking Virginia Car Sometimes, it takes a village. First responders in Northern Virginia formed a human chain to rescue a driver who crash-landed into a pond in Fairfax County, officials say. Late on Sunday afternoon, members of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue and Police departments worked together on a bold rescue mission as a car slowly descended into the pond. The scene of the crash in Fairfax County. Fairfax County Police "It's going down, it's going down," they could be heard shouting as the car slowly sank deeper into the water. Bodycam footage of the rescue can be viewed here. Driver re…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'Bang' Heard Before Lithium-Ion Battery Sparks Maryland Shed Blaze, Fire Marshal Says 'Bang' Heard Before Lithium-Ion Battery Sparks Maryland Shed Blaze, Fire Marshal Says
'Bang' Heard Before Lithium-Ion Battery Sparks Maryland Shed Blaze, Fire Marshal Says It started with a bang. A Maryland homeowner says a lithium-ion battery charging inside a shed exploded before flames tore through the structure and spread to a nearby RV and boat in Cecil County. The fire broke out shortly after 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, at a property in the 500 block of Conowingo Road in Conowingo, according to the Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal. Investigators say the owner had placed a lithium-ion battery for a power tool on its charger.  Within about 10 minutes, he heard a loud "bang." When he went to investigate, the owner found flames burning …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Fire Tears Through Virginia Home As Crews Work To Knock Down Flames: Officials Fire Tears Through Virginia Home As Crews Work To Knock Down Flames: Officials
Fire Tears Through Virginia Home As Crews Work To Knock Down Flames: Officials Virginia firefighters arrived to find flames already tearing through a home before sunrise on Sunday morning, but everyone made it out safely, officials confirmed. The fire broke out just after 1:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 28, at a single-family home in the 8900 block of Jandell Road in Fairfax County. When crews arrived, they found heavy fire showing from the house and quickly launched an aggressive attack, according to the agency. The flames were quickly knocked down, preventing it from spreading further. No injuries were reported. Officials have not said what sparked the fire or whether t…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Crash Shuts Down Three Lanes On I-495 Inner Loop In Montgomery County (DEVELOPING) Crash Shuts Down Three Lanes On I-495 Inner Loop In Montgomery County (DEVELOPING)
Crash Shuts Down Three Lanes On I-495 Inner Loop In Montgomery County (Developing) A crash has shut down three travel lanes on the Inner Loop of I-495 in Maryland on Sunday afternoon, June 28, snarling traffic through Montgomery County as emergency crews respond. The collision was reported shortly before 3 p.m. just past Exit 33 for MD 185 (Connecticut Avenue). According to the Maryland Department of Transportation, three of the four Inner Loop travel lanes are closed, along with one of the two shoulders, while responders remain on the scene. The Outer Loop remains fully open. Traffic camera footage from the area shows heavy congestion stretching well back from the cras…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
'What A Loser': Biden Unloads On Trump During Fiery Speech To Maryland Democrats 'What A Loser': Biden Unloads On Trump During Fiery Speech To Maryland Democrats
'What A Loser': Biden Unloads On Trump During Fiery Speech To Maryland Democrats Joe Biden came out swinging in Maryland. The former president delivered one of his sharpest public attacks yet on President Donald Trump while speaking Saturday night, June 27, to hundreds of Democrats gathered at Maryland Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover for the Maryland Democratic Party's inaugural Fight Back & Win Gala. The event came just days after Maryland's primary elections and served as a rallying cry ahead of the November midterms. "My fellow Democrats. I suspect many of you have come here tonight seeking some hopeful news in this indelibly dark time in our country," he sa…

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by Zak Failla
News
Two Found Dead During Montgomery County Welfare Check With Running Vehicle Found In Garage Two Found Dead During Montgomery County Welfare Check With Running Vehicle Found In Garage
Two Found Dead During Montgomery County Welfare Check With Running Vehicle Found In Garage What began as a welfare check ended in tragedy. Two adults were found dead inside a Maryland home Saturday afternoon after relatives requested a welfare check, where firefighters discovered dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide and a vehicle running inside the garage. The deaths were reported at a home in the 12700 block of Fernberry Lane in Boyds, where Montgomery County Police officers and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel responded shortly before 3:20 p.m. When crews entered the home, they found the two occupants unresponsive. Both were pronounced dead at the sce…

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by Zak Failla
Weather
Microburst Forces Mom, 10-Year-Old Daughter To Live Apart After Home Destroyed In Storms Microburst Forces Mom, 10-Year-Old Daughter To Live Apart After Home Destroyed In Storms
Microburst Forces Mom, 10-Year-Old Daughter To Live Apart After Home Destroyed In Storms When the storm passed, Shanita Haynie's family wasn't thinking about replacing a roof. They were wondering what, if anything, was left. A powerful microburst ripped through the Chatham Towne neighborhood in Fairfax on Monday, sending two trees crashing into Haynie's home and leaving it uninhabitable. Now she's staying in a nearby motel while her 10-year-old daughter has moved in with a family friend. The family hasn't been allowed back inside the house.  According to a GoFundMe organized by friend Lydia Graham, they've been told to assume everything left inside was destroyed aft…

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by Zak Failla
News
Virginia Rescue Teams Search Collapsed Buildings After Deadly Venezuela Earthquakes (PHOTOS) Virginia Rescue Teams Search Collapsed Buildings After Deadly Venezuela Earthquakes (PHOTOS)
Virginia Rescue Teams Search Collapsed Buildings After Deadly Venezuela Earthquakes (Photos) As families desperately wait for signs of life beneath mountains of concrete in Venezuela, one of America's most elite rescue teams is already crawling through the rubble. Virginia Task Force 1, based in Fairfax County, is now conducting around-the-clock search-and-rescue operations in Venezuela after a pair of devastating earthquakes leveled buildings and left more than 1,400 people dead, according to international reports. The Fairfax County-sponsored Urban Search and Rescue team deployed as part of the US Department of State's international disaster response, bringing 79 specially tra…

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by Zak Failla
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