Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

FOLLOW ON

Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram

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

Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Obituaries
Norfolk State Freshman Killed In Dumfries Basketball Court Shooting Remembered For 'Kind Soul' Norfolk State Freshman Killed In Dumfries Basketball Court Shooting Remembered For 'Kind Soul' Norfolk State Freshman Killed In Dumfries Basketball Court Shooting Remembered For 'Kind Soul'
Norfolk State Freshman Killed In Dumfries Basketball Court Shooting Remembered For 'Kind Soul' One minute, Louis Boone was gearing up to continue his freshman year at Norfolk State University. The next, his military family is preparing the 18-year-old's funeral after a senseless act of gun violence. Boone was shot and killed shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 9, during an altercation near the 1800 block of Potomac Shores Parkway in Dumfries.  Several others were injured, and the gunman remains at large. Louis Boone GoFundMe Now, his mother, a US military veteran, is "facing the unimaginable," loved ones say as the family makes funeral and memorial plans for the Dumfries …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Obituaries
VCU Mourns ‘Miss Peaches,’ Remembered As The 'Warm Light At The Top Of The Shafer Stairs' VCU Mourns ‘Miss Peaches,’ Remembered As The 'Warm Light At The Top Of The Shafer Stairs' VCU Mourns ‘Miss Peaches,’ Remembered As The 'Warm Light At The Top Of The Shafer Stairs'
VCU Mourns ‘Miss Peaches,’ Remembered As The 'Warm Light At The Top Of The Shafer Stairs' The loss of a familiar face is hitting hard across the Virginia Commonwealth University community as students and staff mourn the loss of someone they interacted with nearly every day. Jackie “Miss Peaches” Cherry — the beloved Shafer Court Dining Center employee whose warm greetings became a daily ritual for countless students — died at the age of 61 on Sunday, March 8. On campus, she was never just another employee. For years, Miss Peaches stood at the top of the stairs inside Shafer Court, greeting students as they arrived to eat, study, or simply take a break from the grind of college …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Mom Tossed Bloody Jacket After Daughter Said She ‘Caught A Body,’ Prosecutors Say Baltimore Mom Tossed Bloody Jacket After Daughter Said She ‘Caught A Body,’ Prosecutors Say Baltimore Mom Tossed Bloody Jacket After Daughter Said She ‘Caught A Body,’ Prosecutors Say
Baltimore Mom Tossed Bloody Jacket After Daughter Said She ‘Caught A Body,’ Prosecutors Say A mother in Maryland is now facing criminal charges after prosecutors say she tried to help cover up a violent incident involving her daughter. In Baltimore, prosecutors charged Yolanda Wilkes with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, destroying or concealing evidence, and accessory after the fact, according to the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office. The charges stem from an alleged aggravated assault involving three juveniles that unfolded on the 800 block of West Lombard Street on Feb. 15, 2026, an incident that escalated enough that a police officer ultimately fired his weap…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Maryland High School Coach Caught With Child Pornography On Phone, Charles County Sheriff Says Maryland High School Coach Caught With Child Pornography On Phone, Charles County Sheriff Says Maryland High School Coach Caught With Child Pornography On Phone, Charles County Sheriff Says
Maryland High School Coach Caught With Child Pornography On Phone, Charles County Sheriff Says A former high school track and football coach in Maryland is behind bars after being busted with images of toddlers and children on his phone, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office. Louis Delano Bowles III, 25, who had been a coach at Maurice McDonough High School in Pomfret from 2022 to 2025, is facing more than two dozen child pornography charges after being indicted by a grand jury late last month. The investigation was initiated after detectives from the Special Victims Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an unknown suspe…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Centreville, VA
Breaking News
Police Release Sketch Of Nude Intruder Who Slipped Into Centreville Homes While Residents Slept Police Release Sketch Of Nude Intruder Who Slipped Into Centreville Homes While Residents Slept Police Release Sketch Of Nude Intruder Who Slipped Into Centreville Homes While Residents Slept
Police Release Sketch Of Nude Intruder Who Slipped Into Centreville Homes While Residents Slept Look familiar?  Detectives have released a composite sketch of the man believed to be responsible for a string of overnight burglaries and indecent exposure incidents in Virginia homes. The suspect is believed to be the same man connected to four unsettling early-morning break-ins between March 5 and March 8 in Centreville, when residents woke to find a fully nude stranger inside their homes, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. One of the most alarming cases happened around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, March 7, when a woman in the 14700 block of Ealing Court woke up after hearin…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Reston, VA
Breaking News
Three Dead, Two Hurt In Deadly Single-Vehicle Reston Crash: Police (DEVELOPING) Three Dead, Two Hurt In Deadly Single-Vehicle Reston Crash: Police (DEVELOPING) Three Dead, Two Hurt In Deadly Single-Vehicle Reston Crash: Police (DEVELOPING)
Three Dead, Two Hurt In Deadly Single-Vehicle Reston Crash: Police (Developing) Three people are dead and two others are hurt after a single-vehicle crash in Virginia early Saturday morning, police say. Officers from the Fairfax County Police Department were called around 8:30 a.m. on March 14 to the intersection of Fox Mill Road and Folkstone Drive in Reston, where there was a reported crash. Three people were pronounced dead at the scene. Two other passengers survived but suffered serious injuries, according to police. One adult was rushed to a nearby hospital in life-threatening condition, while another passenger was transported with injuries that were not consider…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Mayday Called After Ceiling Collapse Traps Captain In Raging Frederick Apartment Fire Mayday Called After Ceiling Collapse Traps Captain In Raging Frederick Apartment Fire Mayday Called After Ceiling Collapse Traps Captain In Raging Frederick Apartment Fire
Mayday Called After Ceiling Collapse Traps Captain In Raging Frederick Apartment Fire A dramatic rescue unfolded in Maryland on Friday afternoon when a firefighter was injured battling a fast-moving two-alarm blaze that ripped through an apartment complex and forced dozens of residents from their homes. In Frederick, crews were dispatched to the 800 block of Gabriel Court shortly before 2:40 p.m. on March 13, where smoke and flames were already pushing through the roof of a three-story garden-style apartment building. What firefighters encountered quickly turned dangerous. Strong wind helped push the flames through the structure, sending fire racing upward and punching thro…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Havre de Grace, MD
Breaking News
Havre De Grace Father Admits To Shaking, Abusing Infant, Leaving Her With Severe Brain Injuries Havre De Grace Father Admits To Shaking, Abusing Infant, Leaving Her With Severe Brain Injuries Havre De Grace Father Admits To Shaking, Abusing Infant, Leaving Her With Severe Brain Injuries
Havre De Grace Father Admits To Shaking, Abusing Infant, Leaving Her With Severe Brain Injuries A father who left his 12-week-old child with debilitating injuries in Maryland will spend decades in prison, authorities announced on Friday. Havre de Grace resident Alex Lawson, 34, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, with all but 22 to serve, after pleading guilty last month to child abuse offenses in Harford County. According to the Harford County State's Attorney's Office, on June 24, 2025, sheriff's deputies received a call for service involving a 12-week-old baby girl who was in cardiac arrest. The baby was rushed to Upper Chesapeake Hospital and later flown to Nemours Children…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Ground Stops Issued At BWI, Reagan, Dulles Airports Amid FAA 'Equipment Outages' (DEVELOPING) Ground Stops Issued At BWI, Reagan, Dulles Airports Amid FAA 'Equipment Outages' (DEVELOPING) Ground Stops Issued At BWI, Reagan, Dulles Airports Amid FAA 'Equipment Outages' (DEVELOPING)
Ground Stops Issued At BWI, Reagan, Dulles Airports Amid FAA 'Equipment Outages' (Developing) A chemical smell at the Potomac TRACON is disrupting flights across the DMV region. In Maryland, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) beginning at 4:51 p.m. Friday, March 13, citing an equipment outage, according to the FAA’s National Airspace Status system. The ground stop is currently scheduled to remain in effect until 7 p.m., though the FAA says the probability of an extension is medium (between 30 percent and 60 percent). In Virginia, the FAA also issued a ground stop at Washington Dulles Interna…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
National Interest
Gun Used In Deadly ODU ROTC Shooting Sold Days Earlier In VA To ISIS Support Convict, Feds Say Gun Used In Deadly ODU ROTC Shooting Sold Days Earlier In VA To ISIS Support Convict, Feds Say Gun Used In Deadly ODU ROTC Shooting Sold Days Earlier In VA To ISIS Support Convict, Feds Say
Gun Used In Deadly ODU ROTC Shooting Sold Days Earlier In VA To ISIS Support Convict, Feds Say Virginia’s deadly shooting at Old Dominion University is now widening far beyond the classroom where the gunfire erupted. In Norfolk, federal prosecutors have charged Kenya Mechell Chapman, 32, of Smithfield, accusing him of illegally selling the gun used in the March 12 shooting at the school — and newly filed court documents say the weapon was sold to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh just days before the attack. That alone would have been enough to make this case explosive. But the federal complaint and affidavit go further, painting a darker picture of how the gun got into Jalloh’s hands — and who…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Prev Page 288 of 3977 286 287 288 289 290 Next
2,871 - 2,880 of 39,767 articles