Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

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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

Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Drunk Driver With Child In Car Bites Officer After Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge: Police Drunk Driver With Child In Car Bites Officer After Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge: Police Drunk Driver With Child In Car Bites Officer After Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge: Police
Drunk Driver With Child In Car Bites Officer After Hit-Run Crash In Woodbridge: Police A drunk driver who was involved in a hit-and-run with a child in the car doubled down and bit an officer during his arrest in Virginia, police say. Sarah Elizabeth Huff, 36, was spitting mad after a midday DUI and crash in Woodbridge, according to the Prince William County Police Department. At around 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, officers were called to the intersection of Rippon Boulevard and Blackburn Road to investigate a crash after a driver struck a street sign and left the area. Officers were able to track down Huff's vehicle, and it was determined she was intoxicated with an unrest…

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
Gunman Dead, Two Injured After Active Shooter Situation At Old Dominion University In Virginia Gunman Dead, Two Injured After Active Shooter Situation At Old Dominion University In Virginia Gunman Dead, Two Injured After Active Shooter Situation At Old Dominion University In Virginia
Gunman Dead, Two Injured After Active Shooter Situation At Old Dominion University In Virginia Two people were injured, and a gunman is dead after an active shooter situation at Old Dominion University in Virginia. Shortly before 10:49 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, a gunman in Constant Hall opened fire, leaving two people injured, according to the school. Old Dominion University Police, Norfolk Police, and emergency personnel responded immediately, and the two victims were taken to a local hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries. Classes have been canceled for the rest of the day as local, state, and federal officials investigate. "Due to an active shooter situation in which t…

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Breaking News
Two-Alarm Fire Tears Through Richmond's Marina Garage In Earleville, Causing $500K In Damage Two-Alarm Fire Tears Through Richmond's Marina Garage In Earleville, Causing $500K In Damage Two-Alarm Fire Tears Through Richmond's Marina Garage In Earleville, Causing $500K In Damage
Two-Alarm Fire Tears Through Richmond's Marina Garage In Earleville, Causing $500K In Damage A towering plume of smoke could be seen rising across Maryland’s Upper Shore after a massive commercial fire tore through a marina building in Cecil County on Wednesday afternoon. The two-alarm blaze broke out shortly before 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, at Richmond's Marina in the 1500 block of Glebe Road in Earleville, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal.  Firefighters were dispatched at approximately 12:57 p.m. after the property owner discovered flames inside an 80-by-30-foot metal-framed garage building. Crews from the Hacks Point Volunteer Fire Company led the response…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Deadly Drive-By In Waldorf Followed By La Plata Shooting Minutes Later, Sheriff Says Deadly Drive-By In Waldorf Followed By La Plata Shooting Minutes Later, Sheriff Says Deadly Drive-By In Waldorf Followed By La Plata Shooting Minutes Later, Sheriff Says
Deadly Drive-By In Waldorf Followed By La Plata Shooting Minutes Later, Sheriff Says A quiet Wednesday night in Southern Maryland turned deadly fast — with a drive-by execution followed minutes later by another shooting across town. The fatal shooting was reported shortly after 6:45 p.m. on March 11, in the 2200 block of Davis Road in Waldorf, when officers were called to reports of shots fired in the area, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office. Detectives say a 26-year-old man was standing outside a residence when a suspect pulled up in a dark-colored SUV and fired multiple shots, striking and killing him. Fire and EMS crews attempted lifesaving aid, but the ma…

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
All Clear At Reagan National After Suspicious Package Forces Concourse Evacuation (UPDATED) All Clear At Reagan National After Suspicious Package Forces Concourse Evacuation (UPDATED) All Clear At Reagan National After Suspicious Package Forces Concourse Evacuation (UPDATED)
All Clear At Reagan National After Suspicious Package Forces Concourse Evacuation (Updated) The security scare that briefly disrupted operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Thursday morning is over. Airport officials said the suspicious package that triggered an evacuation in Concourse D was cleared around 10:20 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, after being examined by the Arlington County Fire Department. Passengers are now being allowed back into the area as airport operations return to normal. Travelers were advised to check their gate assignments and flight times with their airline, as schedules may have shifted during the investigation. The incident began around …

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
LOOK: Washington Commanders Unveil New RFK Stadium Renderings — And The Views Are Stunning LOOK: Washington Commanders Unveil New RFK Stadium Renderings — And The Views Are Stunning LOOK: Washington Commanders Unveil New RFK Stadium Renderings — And The Views Are Stunning
Look: Washington Commanders Unveil New RFK Stadium Renderings — And The Views Are Stunning With the NFL offseason in full stride, the Washington Commanders are giving their fans more than just some shiny new players for fans to get excited about. Another batch of eye-popping stadium renderings has been released by the team, offering the clearest vision of what the $3.7 billion RFK campus could look like when it's finished. The new visuals highlight sweeping views from major DC landmarks and roadways — including East Capitol Street and the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge — giving fans a sense of what the monumental stadium could look like rising along the Anacostia River. Washing…

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by Zak Failla
Reston, VA
Your Community
Reston Man Who Once Threatened To Stab Trump Sent Back To Prison After New Online Threats Reston Man Who Once Threatened To Stab Trump Sent Back To Prison After New Online Threats Reston Man Who Once Threatened To Stab Trump Sent Back To Prison After New Online Threats
Reston Man Who Once Threatened To Stab Trump Sent Back To Prison After New Online Threats A Northern Virginia man who once showed up outside the Trump International Hotel threatening to stab the president is heading back to prison — after prosecutors say he started posting online messages threatening to kill him again. Valeriy Kouznetsov, 41, of Reston, was sentenced Wednesday, March 11, in federal court in Alexandria to two years and four months in prison for posting threats on social media targeting the President of the United States and other officials, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said. The threats came less than five years after Kouznetsov w…

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Breaking News
‘I Hope You Brought Popcorn’: Harford Sheriff Taunts Activists After ‘We’re Watching’ Postcard ‘I Hope You Brought Popcorn’: Harford Sheriff Taunts Activists After ‘We’re Watching’ Postcard ‘I Hope You Brought Popcorn’: Harford Sheriff Taunts Activists After ‘We’re Watching’ Postcard
‘I Hope You Brought Popcorn’: Harford Sheriff Taunts Activists After ‘We’re Watching’ Postcard Someone in Harford County wanted Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler to know they’re watching him. So he decided to respond — publicly. In a video posted by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Gahler held up what he described as a rather unconventional piece of mail: a postcard apparently written on the back of a box warning that activists are keeping tabs on him over Maryland’s recent decision to ban local participation in the federal 287(g) immigration enforcement program. "Much like you at home, every day here, we get mail at the office,” Gahler said in the video. “And just the other day I …

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Stafford Sex Offender Who Targeted Kids On Snapchat, Instagram Sentenced To Life In Prison Stafford Sex Offender Who Targeted Kids On Snapchat, Instagram Sentenced To Life In Prison Stafford Sex Offender Who Targeted Kids On Snapchat, Instagram Sentenced To Life In Prison
Stafford Sex Offender Who Targeted Kids On Snapchat, Instagram Sentenced To Life In Prison A Virignia man who spent years posing as a teenager online to exploit children across multiple states will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Stafford resident Nicholas Wayne Hanlon, 40, was sentenced to life in prison for sexual exploitation of children and related offenses after investigators uncovered a disturbing pattern of online abuse involving minors on Snapchat and Instagram. The case is even more troubling because Hanlon was already a convicted sex offender when it happened. In 2013, Hanlon pleaded guilty in Washington, DC to receiving child sexual abuse material and travelin…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Obituaries
Fresh Start Cut Short: Maryland Skateboarder Killed In Florida Hit-And-Run While Riding Home Fresh Start Cut Short: Maryland Skateboarder Killed In Florida Hit-And-Run While Riding Home Fresh Start Cut Short: Maryland Skateboarder Killed In Florida Hit-And-Run While Riding Home
Fresh Start Cut Short: Maryland Skateboarder Killed In Florida Hit-And-Run While Riding Home A skateboarder just starting out a new chapter after moving from Maryland to Florida is being celebrated as a "true force of nature" after he was killed in a hit-and-run crash. Joseph Czaplinski, 40, a Baltimore native who recently moved south, was killed in Fort Lauderdale while he was riding his skateboard home, according to his loved ones.  Early on Tuesday, March 10, his family says Czaplinski was on his way home when he was killed by a hit-and-run driver who has yet to be identified. "He was a true force of nature—kindhearted, sarcastic, and always the life of the party," Ta…

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by Zak Failla
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