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

Bethesda, MD
Obituaries
'Outstanding Young Man': Maryland Student-Athlete's Death On Potomac Leaves Community Reeling 'Outstanding Young Man': Maryland Student-Athlete's Death On Potomac Leaves Community Reeling 'Outstanding Young Man': Maryland Student-Athlete's Death On Potomac Leaves Community Reeling
'Outstanding Young Man': Maryland Student-Athlete's Death On Potomac Leaves Community Reeling A Maryland community is mourning the loss of 16-year-old Cephas Nnamdi, an honors student, three-sport athlete and friend remembered for the promise he carried into every corner of his life before his sudden death. Nnamdi had just completed his junior year at Winston Churchill High School in Montgomery County, where he balanced academics with football, rugby and track while already looking ahead to what came next. Friends say he wasn't planning to spend the summer sitting still. According to a fundraiser organized on behalf of his family, Nnamdi planned to work at a local ice rink whi…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
On Your Side
Maryland Theme Park Explains Brown Water On Kiddie Ride Maryland Theme Park Explains Brown Water On Kiddie Ride Maryland Theme Park Explains Brown Water On Kiddie Ride
Maryland Theme Park Explains Brown Water On Kiddie Ride It took 13,000 gallons of fresh water to wash away one of Maryland’s strangest viral moments of the summer. The spectacle centered on Trimper Rides in Ocean City, where a TikTok posted over the Fourth of July weekend showed a young child happily steering a boat through unusually brown water on the park’s indoor ride. @snookiexx3 Is this even legal? (I’m kidding) I really don’t know. #ocmd #boatride #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #happyboy #4thofjuly ♬ Carnival Circus Clown Carousel - Viral Sound Empire The video’s caption jokingly asked, “Is this even legal? (I’m kidding) I really d…

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by Zak Failla
Chesapeake City, MD
Breaking News
9 Hurt, 4 Airlifted To Burn Centers After Fourth Of July Boat Explosion In Cecil County 9 Hurt, 4 Airlifted To Burn Centers After Fourth Of July Boat Explosion In Cecil County 9 Hurt, 4 Airlifted To Burn Centers After Fourth Of July Boat Explosion In Cecil County
9 Hurt, 4 Airlifted To Burn Centers After Fourth Of July Boat Explosion In Cecil County The Fourth of July ended in three helicopter flights for one family. Now, nearly a week after a boat exploded at a Cecil County marina, a Maryland couple is beginning what loved ones describe as a long and painful recovery, with multiple surgeries still ahead after both suffered severe burns and broken bones. Casandra Kirchner and her partner, Dylan Chance, were among seven people aboard a boat that exploded shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday, July 4, while docked at Schaefer's Canal House in Chesapeake City. Chance's nephew, Cole, was also critically injured. All three were flown to separate h…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Obituaries
Nearly $100K Raised In 48 Hours For Virginia Father, Community Leader: 'Unimaginable Void' Nearly $100K Raised In 48 Hours For Virginia Father, Community Leader: 'Unimaginable Void' Nearly $100K Raised In 48 Hours For Virginia Father, Community Leader: 'Unimaginable Void'
Nearly $100K Raised In 48 Hours For Virginia Father, Community Leader: 'Unimaginable Void' The numbers keep climbing. Less than two days after Sathguru Dhandapani's death, nearly 1,000 people have donated almost $100,000 to help the Northern Virginia father's family, a reflection of the impact friends say he quietly made on thousands of lives long before they were asked to give. Dhandapani died on Thursday, July 9, at Inova Fairfax Hospital after suffering critical injuries in a crash days earlier. He was 50. Funeral services were held Saturday in Oakton, where family, friends, and members of the Tamil community gathered to remember a man they say was rarely far from the next pe…

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by Zak Failla
Glen Burnie, MD
Breaking News
150-Foot Danger Zone Ordered Around Glen Burnie Office Building As Structural Fears Grow 150-Foot Danger Zone Ordered Around Glen Burnie Office Building As Structural Fears Grow 150-Foot Danger Zone Ordered Around Glen Burnie Office Building As Structural Fears Grow
150-Foot Danger Zone Ordered Around Glen Burnie Office Building As Structural Fears Grow The danger zone just got a whole lot bigger. Anne Arundel County officials have expanded the safety perimeter around the Empire Towers office building in Glen Burnie, warning residents to stay away as concerns over the building's structural stability continue to grow. The new advisory comes days after the 10-story building at 7310 Ritchie Highway was evacuated when part of an underground parking garage shifted during construction. County Executive Steuart Pittman announced that a 150-foot safety perimeter has now been established around the building, based on recommendations from structura…

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by Zak Failla
Leonardtown-California, MD
Breaking News
Driver Airlifted After Head-On Piney Point Crash; Speed, Alcohol Suspected, Sheriff Says Driver Airlifted After Head-On Piney Point Crash; Speed, Alcohol Suspected, Sheriff Says Driver Airlifted After Head-On Piney Point Crash; Speed, Alcohol Suspected, Sheriff Says
Driver Airlifted After Head-On Piney Point Crash; Speed, Alcohol Suspected, Sheriff Says A Southern Maryland man is fighting for his life after investigators say speed and alcohol appear to have fueled a violent head-on crash that left two people trapped Friday afternoon. The collision happened around 3:55 p.m. on Friday, July 10, at the intersection of Piney Point Road and Drayden Road in Piney Point, where St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived to find two mangled trucks, two people trapped inside, and one driver unconscious. Investigators say Robert Lumpkins, 38, of Leonardtown, was driving a Chevrolet Silverado north on Piney Point Road when the truck cros…

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Stafford Biker's DUI Arrest Snowballed Into Gun, Knife, Jail Drug Charges: Sheriff Stafford Biker's DUI Arrest Snowballed Into Gun, Knife, Jail Drug Charges: Sheriff Stafford Biker's DUI Arrest Snowballed Into Gun, Knife, Jail Drug Charges: Sheriff
Stafford Biker's DUI Arrest Snowballed Into Gun, Knife, Jail Drug Charges: Sheriff Marlin Adams was arrested following a motorcycle crash. Then things somehow got worse once he was off the pavement and behind bars. The Stafford man accused of crashing his motorcycle while drunk was allegedly carrying a large knife and two firearms, fought deputies during his arrest, and was caught with suspected drugs after arriving at jail, according to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office. Adams, 32, was arrested shortly after 1:15 a.m. on Thursday, July 9, following a motorcycle crash near the intersection of Forbes Street and Cambridge Street in Stafford County. When deputies arrived…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
18-Time Convicted Felon Found Unconscious On DC Sidewalk With 'Ghost Gun' Gets Prison Time: DOJ 18-Time Convicted Felon Found Unconscious On DC Sidewalk With 'Ghost Gun' Gets Prison Time: DOJ 18-Time Convicted Felon Found Unconscious On DC Sidewalk With 'Ghost Gun' Gets Prison Time: DOJ
18-Time Convicted Felon Found Unconscious On DC Sidewalk With 'Ghost Gun' Gets Prison Time: DOJ A convicted felon with 18 prior convictions was found unconscious on a busy DC sidewalk with a loaded, unserialized ghost gun tucked into the back of his waistband, landing him in federal prison. James Fredrick Moore, 52, was sentenced on Friday, July 10, to 27 months behind bars after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a firearm, ammunition, and a privately made "ghost gun" despite being barred from owning weapons. The case began on Sept. 3, 2025, when a witness called 911 after spotting an unconscious man with a gun near the intersection of 1st Street NW and Florida Avenue NW, one of…

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by Zak Failla
College Park, MD
Breaking News
'I Can't Breathe': Man Accused Of Choking Woman Captured After Window Escape In PG County 'I Can't Breathe': Man Accused Of Choking Woman Captured After Window Escape In PG County 'I Can't Breathe': Man Accused Of Choking Woman Captured After Window Escape In PG County
'I Can't Breathe': Man Accused Of Choking Woman Captured After Window Escape In PG County Her cries for help brought neighbors running. Now, a Maryland man is behind bars after deputies say he choked a woman outside a Prince George's County home, then escaped by diving through a rear window as officers closed in. Deputies responded on Monday, June 23, to a residence after neighbors reported hearing a woman yelling, "I can't breathe," according to the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office. When deputies arrived, they said they found Dimitris Oswald Gross grabbing the victim by the neck, pinning her against the outside of the home, and yelling in her face. Investigators said G…

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by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man Vanishes After Boarding Bus Home From New Hampshire, Police Say Maryland Man Vanishes After Boarding Bus Home From New Hampshire, Police Say Maryland Man Vanishes After Boarding Bus Home From New Hampshire, Police Say
Maryland Man Vanishes After Boarding Bus Home From New Hampshire, Police Say Sebastien Christian Beard was supposed to be headed home. Instead, the Maryland man vanished after boarding a bus in New Hampshire, and now police are asking for the public's help finding him. Montgomery County Police detectives are searching for the 26-year-old, who was last seen shortly after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 21, boarding a bus in Dover, New Hampshire, on his way back to Maryland. Police said Beard has not been seen or heard from since. Beard is described as 6-foot-3 with black hair. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, gray pants, and a black backpack, and was carrying a s…

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by Zak Failla
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