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

South Riding, VA
Breaking News
$1M Nightmare: Fire Near Chest Freezer Damages 3 South Riding Homes $1M Nightmare: Fire Near Chest Freezer Damages 3 South Riding Homes
$1M Nightmare: Fire Near Chest Freezer Damages 3 South Riding Homes A fire that started near a chest freezer turned into a million-dollar nightmare for a Northern Virginia neighborhood before most residents were awake. Multiple 911 callers reported the house fire in the 25100 block of Fortitude Terrace in South Riding at approximately 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, prompting a heavy response from Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames pouring from the garage and exterior of the two-story home, where investigators say the accidental blaze began near a chest freezer. It didn't stay there for long. The fire quick…

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by Zak Failla
Potomac, MD
Breaking News
Beaver Still At Large After Attacking 10-Year-Old At Seneca Creek State Park: DNR Beaver Still At Large After Attacking 10-Year-Old At Seneca Creek State Park: DNR
Beaver Still At Large After Attacking 10-Year-Old At Seneca Creek State Park: DNR Maryland's beaver problem isn't going away quietly. Five days after a 10-year-old girl was attacked at Seneca Creek State Park, the beaver remains at large, parts of the park remain closed, and state wildlife officials have now corrected a key detail about what happened on Thursday, Aug. 13. The girl was not canoeing when she was attacked, as initially reported. According to an updated account released Tuesday, Aug. 18, by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the girl was attending summer camp and was swimming and wading with an organized group and other members of the public at a…

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by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Obituaries
What We Know About The Man Killed By A Bel Air Officer And What Remains Unclear What We Know About The Man Killed By A Bel Air Officer And What Remains Unclear
What We Know About The Man Killed By A Bel Air Officer And What Remains Unclear Francisco Aparicio Muños spent a decade working in Maryland to provide for his family back home.  Now, they’re trying to bring his body home. Aparicio Muños was the driver fatally shot by Bel Air Police Officer Christopher Birch during a traffic stop on Franklin Street at around 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division. Days after the shooting, his family is putting a face and a story to the man whose name initially went unreleased. Aparicio Muños spent the past 10 years in the US working hard, sometimes holding two…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Former Fauci Adviser From Maryland Admits Hiding COVID-Era Communications From Public View: DOJ Former Fauci Adviser From Maryland Admits Hiding COVID-Era Communications From Public View: DOJ
Former Fauci Adviser From Maryland Admits Hiding Covid-era Communications From Public View: DOJ David Morens spent years advising one of the biggest names in America's COVID-19 response. Now the Maryland man has admitted conspiring to keep some of his pandemic-era communications out of public view. Morens, 78, of Chester, pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenbelt on Tuesday, Aug. 18, to conspiracy to commit offenses and defraud the United States, months after the former senior National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases official was indicted in the scheme. Morens served as a senior adviser in NIAID's Office of the Director from 2006 through 2022 and was an adviser to Dr.…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Obituaries
From The White House To 130,000 Rewards: Maryland Fire Marshal Says Goodbye To K9 Zorro From The White House To 130,000 Rewards: Maryland Fire Marshal Says Goodbye To K9 Zorro
From The White House To 130,000 Rewards: Maryland Fire Marshal Says Goodbye To K9 Zorro Zorro had one heck of a nose. For more than eight years, the black Labrador helped sniff out the secrets hiding in Maryland fire scenes, following traces of gasoline, kerosene, and lighter fluid that investigators could not find on their own. By the time he retired, Zorro had worked across Maryland and beyond, helped with an investigation at the White House, charmed thousands of children, and left behind a photograph so memorable it wound up hanging inside the ATF National Canine Training Center. K9 Zorro Trading Card Office Of The Maryland State Fire Marshal But to Deputy Chief St…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Six MPD Members Got Paid While Traveling Outside DC, Working Side Hustles, Feds Say Six MPD Members Got Paid While Traveling Outside DC, Working Side Hustles, Feds Say
Six MPD Members Got Paid While Traveling Outside DC, Working Side Hustles, Feds Say They allegedly got paid to police DC while some weren't even in DC. Arrest warrants were issued on Tuesday, Aug. 18, for six current and former Metropolitan Police Department members accused of collecting more than $441,000 for thousands of hours they didn't work in 2024, federal prosecutors announced in DC. Some of those claims came while the officers were purportedly on annual leave, traveling outside the District, and even working a second job. Federal prosecutors say it was all part of a sprawling overtime scheme involving members of MPD's Fifth District that ultimately covered 5,…

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by Zak Failla
Reston, VA
Breaking News
Reston Woman Found Dead Near Her Car At Great Falls Park As Killer Remains At Large: Police Reston Woman Found Dead Near Her Car At Great Falls Park As Killer Remains At Large: Police
Reston Woman Found Dead Near Her Car At Great Falls Park As Killer Remains At Large: Police A quiet morning at a Virginia park began with a grim discovery. Fairfax County police were called to Difficult Run Park in Great Falls at 6:43 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 17, where an unconscious woman had been spotted lying in the parking lot near a 2011 Honda Civic. When officers arrived, they found 42-year-old Reston resident Carmen Lizet Puch suffering from trauma to her upper body. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Now, homicide detectives are searching for answers. Investigators determined that the Honda Civic parked near Puch belonged to her, police said. Detectives from the departm…

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by Zak Failla
Owings Mills, MD
Obituaries
Ravens-Loving Dad-To-Be Dies At 28 As Family Prepares To Say Goodbye In Baltimore County Ravens-Loving Dad-To-Be Dies At 28 As Family Prepares To Say Goodbye In Baltimore County
Ravens-Loving Dad-To-Be Dies At 28 As Family Prepares To Say Goodbye In Baltimore County Michael Handlmaier was supposed to be getting ready to become a dad. Instead, loved ones in Maryland are preparing to say goodbye to the 28-year-old newlywed, who died on Saturday, Aug. 15, following what his mother described as a sudden cardiac arrest. Handlmaier and his wife, Amanda, had been married for just five months and were preparing to welcome their first child, a baby girl, in November, according to his obituary and a GoFundMe campaign created for the family. "It is with a broken heart that we share the news that our beloved son, Michael, passed away at the age of 28 following a …

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Idylwood Man Dies After Metro Bus Strikes Him In Bailey's Crossroads Crosswalk: Police Idylwood Man Dies After Metro Bus Strikes Him In Bailey's Crossroads Crosswalk: Police
Idylwood Man Dies After Metro Bus Strikes Him In Bailey's Crossroads Crosswalk: Police The 59-year-old man who was struck in the crosswalk by a Metro bus in Northern Virginia has died, police confirmed. Idylwood resident Adam Ali has been identified by the Fairfax County Police Department as the pedestrian who was struck over the weekend in Bailey's Crossroads. Shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, officers were called to the intersection of Columbia Pike and Carlin Springs Road when a pedestrian was hit by a bus. On Tuesday, Aug. 18, investigators say they believe the driver of a 2022 New Flyer Metro bus was traveling eastbound on Columbia Pike and stopped at a red tr…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Third Arrest Made After Two Related Attacks 12 Minutes Apart In St. Mary's County: Sheriff Third Arrest Made After Two Related Attacks 12 Minutes Apart In St. Mary's County: Sheriff
Third Arrest Made After Two Related Attacks 12 Minutes Apart In St. Mary's County: Sheriff The fallout from a violent night in Southern Maryland isn't over yet. A third person has now been arrested in connection with two related attacks at separate Lexington Park homes on Thursday, Aug. 13, according to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. Katina Marie Knott, 39, of Lexington Park, was arrested on Saturday, Aug. 15, as detectives continued investigating the pair of incidents that unfolded just 12 minutes apart. Her arrest comes after Tina Marie Tippett, 37, who has no fixed address, and Lexington Park resident Javone Lawrence Warrick, 35, were taken into custody following the…

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by Zak Failla
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