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

Arlington, VA
Your Community
WATCH: Runaway Emu Gives Virginia Firefighters A Very Different Kind Of Rescue WATCH: Runaway Emu Gives Virginia Firefighters A Very Different Kind Of Rescue
Watch: Runaway Emu Gives Virginia Firefighters A Very Different Kind Of Rescue "No two days are alike in this job." Firefighters in Northern Virginia traded flames for feathers on Tuesday, Aug. 18, when a runaway emu sent crews scrambling for a very different kind of rescue. The unusual call came from the Hamilton area of Loudoun County, where members of Fire Station 5 were dispatched to help reunite the escaped bird with its owner, according to the Loudoun Career Fire Fighters Association. No hoses needed. Just a little teamwork and some careful wrangling. Video from the encounter shows two rescuers working together in a wooded area as they guide the surprisingl…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
He Got Fired From A Virginia Company, Then $41K In Wire And Tools Vanished, Sheriff Says He Got Fired From A Virginia Company, Then $41K In Wire And Tools Vanished, Sheriff Says
He Got Fired From A Virginia Company, Then $41K In Wire And Tools Vanished, Sheriff Says Jacob Caudill did not take his firing lightly. The Virginia man is accused of stealing more than $41,000 in industrial wire and tools from Stuart Rush Company on Hillman Highway this week, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. During the investigation, deputies learned that some of the stolen industrial wire had been taken to a scrap metal business in Chilhowie. That business had more scruples than Caudill. Employees at the business recognized the wire as being potentially stolen and were able to obtain the ID of the person who attempted to sell it. Further investigat…

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by Zak Failla
Chantilly, VA
Your Community
They All Made It Out Of Their Chantilly Home, But Almost Nothing Else Did They All Made It Out Of Their Chantilly Home, But Almost Nothing Else Did
They All Made It Out Of Their Chantilly Home, But Almost Nothing Else Did Three generations of one family escaped a devastating Northern Virginia fire with their lives. Nearly everything else was left behind. Danial Boushra, his wife, their four young children, and his parents lost their Chantilly home when an accidental fire broke out around midnight and spread through the residence, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched by close friend Eddie Adiyeh. Everyone in the family made it out safely. But what came next was another reality entirely. The Boushras lost nearly everything they owned, according to Adiyeh, leaving a family of eight suddenly without …

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
74-Year-Old Scooter Rider Dies Weeks After Manassas Crash, Driver Charged: Police 74-Year-Old Scooter Rider Dies Weeks After Manassas Crash, Driver Charged: Police
74-Year-Old Scooter Rider Dies Weeks After Manassas Crash, Driver Charged: Police A 74-year-old scooter rider has died after being struck by a driver who blew through a stop sign in Northern Virginia, police say. Nearly a month after Jorge Valentin Diaz Ramirez struck Manassas man John Wesley Marr, police have cited the driver after the 74-year-old succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Shortly before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 21, officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called to the intersection of Coverstone Drive and Aaron Lane in Manassas, where there was a reported crash. Investigators say Diaz Ramirez was driving a 2022 Kia Forte on Aa…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
CBP Thought 412 Pounds Of Khat Was A Big BWI Haul Then This Showed Up (PHOTOS) CBP Thought 412 Pounds Of Khat Was A Big BWI Haul Then This Showed Up (PHOTOS)
CBP Thought 412 Pounds Of Khat Was A Big BWI Haul Then This Showed Up (Photos) Apparently, 412 pounds wasn't enough. Just two days after federal officers intercepted hundreds of pounds of khat at a Maryland airport, an even bigger load came rolling through Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Thursday, Aug. 13. This time, there were people there to claim it. Two men from New York arrived at BWI on a flight from London and were referred for a secondary inspection by US Customs and Border Protection officers, according to the agency. Then officers started opening their luggage. Inside, they found a significant amount of what appeared to be …

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
2-Month-Old Girl's Death Ruled Homicide After Suspected Domestic Incident In DC: Police 2-Month-Old Girl's Death Ruled Homicide After Suspected Domestic Incident In DC: Police
2-Month-Old Girl's Death Ruled Homicide After Suspected Domestic Incident In DC: Police The death of an infant killed during a suspected domestic incident in DC has been ruled a homicide, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Shortly after 9:45 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2-month-old Khamyah Honesty was found unresponsive by first responders in an apartment in the 800 block of New Jersey Avenue SE. The child was suffering from blunt force injuries, police said. She was rushed to the hospital by DC Fire and EMS personnel, where she later died. On Tuesday, Aug. 18, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for DC determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma and r…

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by Zak Failla
Greenbelt, MD
Obituaries
‘We Lost One Of The Best’: Teacher, Young Mom From Maryland Dies Suddenly On Vacation At 40 ‘We Lost One Of The Best’: Teacher, Young Mom From Maryland Dies Suddenly On Vacation At 40
‘We Lost One Of The Best’: Teacher, Young Mom From Maryland Dies Suddenly On Vacation At 40 Amanda "Mandy" Jean Butler spent more than a decade molding young minds. Now it's her community that is stepping up for her kids following her unexpected death. The 40-year-old educator passed away during a vacation on Wednesday, Aug. 12, after suffering a sudden stroke, according to loved ones. She leaves behind two little boys and a doting husband she married two years ago. Despite doctors’ efforts, Butler died at the hospital surrounded by close loved ones, organizers of a GoFundMe that went viral in the community. Her death left a hole stretching from her classroom at Stoddert Element…

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by Zak Failla
Great Falls, VA
Breaking News
ICE Targets 3 Men Charged With Child Sex Crimes At Same Virginia Jail: DHS ICE Targets 3 Men Charged With Child Sex Crimes At Same Virginia Jail: DHS
ICE Targets 3 Men Charged With Child Sex Crimes At Same Virginia Jail: DHS Three men. Three ICE detainers. One Virginia jail. The Department of Homeland Security put the Commonwealth back in its crosshairs on Wednesday, Aug. 19, after immigration officials lodged detainers against three men being held at the Middle River Regional Jail in Staunton on charges involving alleged sex crimes against children. All three were arrested within five days of each other in late July, according to DHS. Efren Ramirez Escobedo, a Mexican national, was arrested on July 24 and charged with sexual assault involving a victim between 13 and 14 years old and forcible intercourse. DHS…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Possible House Explosion Sparks Heavy Emergency Response In Anne Arundel County (DEVELOPING) Possible House Explosion Sparks Heavy Emergency Response In Anne Arundel County (DEVELOPING)
Possible House Explosion Sparks Heavy Emergency Response In Anne Arundel County (Developing) A home explosion is under investigation in Maryland. Fire crews were called to the 1100 block of Green Holly Drive in Annapolis shortly before 12:40 p.m. on Aug. 19, where officials were investigating a possible residential explosion, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Crews remained on the scene as the developing incident drew a heavy emergency response. Officials warned residents and motorists to avoid the area while firefighters worked at the scene. Details about what may have exploded, the extent of the damage, and whether anyone was injured were not immediately rel…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
SUV Smashes Gas Line In Fairfax County, Forces School, Shopping Center Evacuations SUV Smashes Gas Line In Fairfax County, Forces School, Shopping Center Evacuations
SUV Smashes Gas Line In Fairfax County, Forces School, Shopping Center Evacuations One wrong turn left a Virginia roadway reeking of gas and sent students and shoppers scrambling to safety. The trouble started before noon on Wednesday, Aug. 19, when a vehicle crashed into a 12-inch gas line near Ox Road and Burke Centre Parkway in Fairfax Station, according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. The impact left the SUV in a precarious position off the roadway and prompted a sizable emergency response as gas poured into the area. Fairfax County Police The driver was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. With a strong smell of gas lingering…

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by Zak Failla
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