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

Towson, MD
Obituaries
'Thank You For Loving My Son': Baltimore Mother Mourns Brandon McMurrin Jr. After Death At 19 'Thank You For Loving My Son': Baltimore Mother Mourns Brandon McMurrin Jr. After Death At 19 'Thank You For Loving My Son': Baltimore Mother Mourns Brandon McMurrin Jr. After Death At 19
'Thank You For Loving My Son': Baltimore Mother Mourns Brandon McMurrin Jr. After Death At 19 She is seeing every message. She just cannot answer them all. A Maryland mother is trying to thank the people holding her family up after the sudden death of her 19-year-old son, Brandon Da'von McMurrin Jr., who was struck by a vehicle while walking home from work on Saturday, June 20. In Baltimore, Candace Brock is living through the week no parent can prepare for. Her son is gone. The calls keep coming. The texts. The prayers. The shares. The donations. The posts from friends asking others to help her lay the teen to rest. And through it all, Brock said she wants people to know she sees…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
100+ MPH Driver Who Killed 3 While Fleeing Police Learns Fate In Rock Creek Parkway Crash 100+ MPH Driver Who Killed 3 While Fleeing Police Learns Fate In Rock Creek Parkway Crash 100+ MPH Driver Who Killed 3 While Fleeing Police Learns Fate In Rock Creek Parkway Crash
100+ MPH Driver Who Killed 3 While Fleeing Police Learns Fate In Rock Creek Parkway Crash The woman responsible for a triple-fatal crash on Rock Creek Parkway more than three years ago will spend decades in federal prison. District resident Nakita Walker, 45, was convicted by a Superior Court jury on Monday, April 6, for the March 2023 deaths of Mohamed Kamara, Jonathan Alberto Cabrera Mendez, and Olvin Josue Torres Velasquez. On Thursday, June 25, Walker was sentenced to 29 years in prison for her role in their deaths. Shortly before 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, officers responded to a reported crash on the parkway near P Street NW when a Honda sedan crashed he…

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by Zak Failla
Springfield, VA
Breaking News
Man Walks Into Traffic, Then Threatens Mother, 8-Year-Old During Springfield Robbery: Police Man Walks Into Traffic, Then Threatens Mother, 8-Year-Old During Springfield Robbery: Police Man Walks Into Traffic, Then Threatens Mother, 8-Year-Old During Springfield Robbery: Police
Man Walks Into Traffic, Then Threatens Mother, 8-Year-Old During Springfield Robbery: Police A man who threatened a mother and her 8-year-old daughter when they refused to give him a ride in Northern Virginia has been linked to an even stranger incident an hour earlier, police say. The Fairfax County Police Department released surveillance photos on Thursday afternoon of a man who went on a bizarre crime spree in Springfield earlier this month. According to investigators, at around 9:10 p.m. on Sunday, June 14, officers were called to the 5200 block of Montgomery Street for a reported robbery. Police say the man approached a woman and her daughter and asked for a ride. When she de…

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by Zak Failla
Great Falls, VA
Breaking News
Possibly Rabid Coyote That Attacked Great Falls Resident, Dogs Still On The Loose: Officials Possibly Rabid Coyote That Attacked Great Falls Resident, Dogs Still On The Loose: Officials Possibly Rabid Coyote That Attacked Great Falls Resident, Dogs Still On The Loose: Officials
Possibly Rabid Coyote That Attacked Great Falls Resident, Dogs Still On The Loose: Officials Something vicious came out of the woods, then vanished. Maryland residents who frequent Great Falls should use caution after a coyote that attacked several dogs and one person during daylight hours remains unaccounted for, prompting fears it could be rabid. The Fairfax County Health Department issued the advisory this week following a string of unprovoked attacks reported on Thursday, June 18, in the Great Falls area around Utterback Store Road and Streamview Court in Fairfax County. Despite an extensive search, wildlife officials were unable to find the coyote, meaning rabies cannot be ru…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Expands Measles Outbreak Area As Cases Climb, New County Added To Warning Zone Virginia Expands Measles Outbreak Area As Cases Climb, New County Added To Warning Zone Virginia Expands Measles Outbreak Area As Cases Climb, New County Added To Warning Zone
Virginia Expands Measles Outbreak Area As Cases Climb, New County Added To Warning Zone A growing measles outbreak in Virginia is spreading farther, prompting health officials to expand their warning area as the number of confirmed cases continues to climb. The Virginia Department of Health announced on Thursday, June 25, that Cumberland County has been added to the ongoing outbreak area, which previously centered on neighboring Buckingham County.  Officials said recent evidence of community transmission in Cumberland led to the expansion, though no specific public exposure sites have been identified. Residents and visitors in Buckingham, Cumberland, and surrounding comm…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
NFL Draft Is Coming To DC: Here's When Football Will Take Over The National Mall In 2027 NFL Draft Is Coming To DC: Here's When Football Will Take Over The National Mall In 2027 NFL Draft Is Coming To DC: Here's When Football Will Take Over The National Mall In 2027
NFL Draft Is Coming To DC: Here's When Football Will Take Over The National Mall In 2027 The National Mall is about to trade tourists for touchdown celebrations. One of the biggest weekends in football is officially heading to the DMV, with the NFL announcing on Thursday that the 2027 NFL Draft will transform the heart of DC into a three-day football festival from Thursday, April 29, through Saturday, May 1, 2027. Forget a convention center. They do it bigger in the nation's capital. The Draft Theater will rise on the National Mall directly in front of the US Capitol, while Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 7th streets will become home to the NFL Draft Experience, putting fa…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Former US Army Soldier Stationed At Virginia Base Who Preyed On Teens Learns Fate: Feds Former US Army Soldier Stationed At Virginia Base Who Preyed On Teens Learns Fate: Feds Former US Army Soldier Stationed At Virginia Base Who Preyed On Teens Learns Fate: Feds
Former US Army Soldier Stationed At Virginia Base Who Preyed On Teens Learns Fate: Feds A former US Army soldier who was stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia will spend years in prison after preying on two young girls through social media. Isaac James Guinsler, 25, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison following an investigation into the coercion and enticement of at least two children, federal authorities announced. According to court documents, Guinsler used Snapchat and Apple accounts to share child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and communicate with his underage victims. On his devices, investigators say they identified a total of 297 CSAM images and t…

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by Zak Failla
Essex, MD
Obituaries
Future Cut Short: Family Seeks Help Honoring 2025 Kenwood Graduate Christopher Hamilton Jr. Future Cut Short: Family Seeks Help Honoring 2025 Kenwood Graduate Christopher Hamilton Jr. Future Cut Short: Family Seeks Help Honoring 2025 Kenwood Graduate Christopher Hamilton Jr.
Future Cut Short: Family Seeks Help Honoring 2025 Kenwood Graduate Christopher Hamilton Jr. He had already crossed the graduation stage. His next chapter was just getting started. Now, a Maryland family is preparing to bury 2025 high school graduate Christopher Hamilton Jr., whose life was cut short after a crash just as he was training to become an electrician. Hamilton was critically injured in a crash on Thursday, June 11, and died from his injuries the following day, Friday, June 12, according to his loved ones. The Baltimore County graduate had recently begun building the future he had worked so hard to reach.  A proud member of Kenwood High School's Class of 2025, Ham…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Millersville Motorcyclist Thrown From Bike, Killed After Landing In Pickup's Path, Police Say Millersville Motorcyclist Thrown From Bike, Killed After Landing In Pickup's Path, Police Say Millersville Motorcyclist Thrown From Bike, Killed After Landing In Pickup's Path, Police Say
Millersville Motorcyclist Thrown From Bike, Killed After Landing In Pickup's Path, Police Say One split second changed everything. A Maryland motorcyclist was thrown from his bike and into the path of an oncoming pickup truck during a violent crash in Anne Arundel County on Wednesday afternoon, police said. The collision happened in Millersville shortly after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, in the northbound lanes of Veterans Highway just north of Brightview Road. According to the Anne Arundel County Police Department, Charles D. Braun, 70, of Millersville, was riding a 1982 Yamaha XJ650 north when he attempted to change lanes across uneven pavement. Braun lost control of the motorc…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Woman Sexually Assaulted After Accepting Ride From Stranger In Woodbridge: Police Woman Sexually Assaulted After Accepting Ride From Stranger In Woodbridge: Police Woman Sexually Assaulted After Accepting Ride From Stranger In Woodbridge: Police
Woman Sexually Assaulted After Accepting Ride From Stranger In Woodbridge: Police A man who offered a 22-year-old woman a ride, took her on a harrowing ride, then sexually assaulted her, is on the run in Virginia, according to police. Investigators from the Prince William County Police Department are on the hunt for a sexual assault suspect who is accused of abusing a woman in Woodbridge. According to the department, on Wednesday, officers were called to investigate a reported sexual assault that was reported to have taken place in the area of Thenia Place two days earlier, on Monday, June 22. The woman told investigators that she was walking in the 13300 block of Occoq…

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by Zak Failla
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