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

Rockville, MD

Your Community

Threats OF Mass Violence: Teen Girl's Instagram Post Targeted Wootton HS, Police Say What started as an Instagram post ended with detectives, parents, and a criminal charge for a 16-year-old Maryland girl. A mindful Gaithersburg father alerted the Montgomery County Department of Police this week, and reported that his child, a student at Wootton High School, observed an Instagram post with a direct threat to the building. The department's Threat Assessment and Behavioral Solutions Team was notified and identified the owner of the Instagram account — a teen from Gaithersburg. A detective and an officer interviewed the girl and her parents, during which she admitted to …

by Zak Failla

02/26/2026

Fredericksburg, VA

Obituaries

Virginia Family Grieves Loss Of Mom-To-Be, Unborn Son Killed In Head-On Crash A Virginia family is grieving not one life — but two. Marissa Marie Gonzalez, 21, of Hampton, was killed in a head-on crash on US-460 in Southampton County near the Sussex County line. She was five months pregnant with a baby boy. Sheriff’s deputies and Virginia State Police responded to the crash at 4:40 p.m. on the highway near Drews Avenue, where two sedans collided head-on, according to the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office. Three people were involved. Two were airlifted to the hospital, and another was transported by ambulance. Gonzalez, who was a passenger in on…

by Zak Failla

02/26/2026

Towson, MD

Breaking News

Two-Alarm Blaze Breaks Out At Baltimore Auto Shop Thursday Morning (Developing) An auto shop employee and firefighter were reportedly injured in a two-alarm blaze that broke out in Baltimore on Thursday morning. At around 10:45 a.m. on Feb. 26, crews were called to a commercial fire in the 2000 block of North Rose Street, which was quickly elevated to two alarms. Officials said that fire crews were working to contain the fire and knock down the flames. Two injuries were initially reported, according to reports. This is a developing story. Check Daily Voice for updates.

by Zak Failla

02/26/2026

Fredericksburg, VA

Breaking News

Navy Chief Who Illegally Filmed Teen Girl In Virginia Bathroom Learns Prison Fate A Navy Chief Petty Officer with ties to Virginia Beach is going to federal prison for 25 years after investigators found child sexual abuse material on his phone — including hidden bathroom recordings of a 13-year-old girl. Shane Matthew Harlacher, 39, was sentenced in US District Court in Norfolk on Wednesday, Feb. 25, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Federal prosecutors said the case began in December 2023 when the Naval Criminal Investigative Service received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Harlacher was us…

by Zak Failla

02/26/2026

Gaithersburg, MD

Your Community

Shuck Yeah: Potomac Oysters Survive Sewage Spill, Here's When Harvest Ban Will Be Lifted Marylanders can keep shucking. State environmental officials announced that testing continues to show the Potomac River’s shellfish waters downstream of the recent Potomac Interceptor sewage spill remain safe — and a precautionary harvesting closure will be lifted March 10, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment. The temporary closure covered a stretch of the Potomac from the Port Tobacco River region down to the US Route 301 bridge, impacting portions of Charles County and bordering Virginia waters. It was put in place after the upstream sewage spill, roughly 60 miles awa…

by Zak Failla

02/26/2026

Taneytown-Union Bridge, MD

Breaking News

Family Escapes Through Window As Early-Morning Fire Rips Through Taneytown Home (Video) A Maryland family is alive this morning because their smoke alarms did exactly what they were supposed to do. A fast-moving dwelling fire broke out at 2:18 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, at a single-family home on George Street in Taneytown, forcing residents to escape through a second-floor window, according to the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Firefighters from the Taneytown Volunteer Fire Company were dispatched to 43 George Street in Carroll County after a resident discovered the fire, officials said. The fire in Carroll County. Taneytown VFC The blaze started in the fir…

by Zak Failla

02/26/2026

Alexandria, VA

Breaking News

Alleged MS-13 Member With Deportation History Arrested In Virginia After Illegal Reentry: Feds A man federal agents say has ties to MS-13 — and who had already been deported from the United States twice — is back in custody after resurfacing in Virginia. Cristian Medrano-Umanzor, 34, was arrested January 24 in Strasburg by ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents in Harrisonburg working alongside Strasburg Police, according to federal officials. ICE says Medrano-Umanzor is an alleged member of the MS-13 criminal organization and has a criminal record that includes drug convictions, resisting arrest, and a prior federal conviction for illegally reentering the country after deportat…

by Zak Failla

02/26/2026

National Interest

Attorneys Claim BAC Was Below Legal Limit In Gaudreau Brothers Crash Case: Reports Attorneys for Sean Higgins, the man accused of drunk driving in the crash that killed the Gaudreau brothers, argued in court this week that new test results are in and his blood alcohol level was below the legal driving limit, according to multiple news reports. While police say that Higgins' BAC was 0.087, the New Jersey man's lawyers argued on Tuesday, Feb. 24, that a defense expert's report shows only plasma was tested, and his true level was 0.075 percent, which is under the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent, according to 6ABC Action News and NBC10. The new test results came just as t…

by Zak Failla & Cecilia Levine

02/25/2026

Frederick, MD

Your Community

Rapist Deported From Maryland — Sheriff Warns End Of ICE Partnership Puts Public At Risk A convicted rapist who assaulted a victim in Frederick County has been deported from Maryland — and the county’s sheriff says the removal may be one of the last made possible under the state’s cooperation with ICE. Ruben Alonso Hernandez-Lainez, 29, a Salvadoran national convicted of rape and assault in Frederick County, was removed from the United States, years after he illegally entered the country in 2021, according to federal officials. In May 2022, Border Patrol agents encountered him near Hidalgo, Texas, and he was then released into the United States. Less than a year later, on May …

by Zak Failla

02/25/2026

Dunkirk-Owings, MD

Breaking News

Dundalk Man Blasts Beers, Hits 120 MPH In Chase Before Crashing In Front Of Home: Sheriff A man who had a few too many beers took sheriff's deputies on a wild high-speed chase that topped 120 mph before crashing in front of a Maryland house, officials say. Dundalk resident Irvin Danilo Avelar Arrue, 32, did his best to avoid his arrest, but ultimately landed himself behind bars after a speeding stop turned into a police pursuit through Calvert County, according to the sheriff's office. A deputy on patrol attempted to stop Arrue on West Chesapeake Beach Road in Dunkirk after clocking him at 98 mph. He refused to stop and continued onto Brickhouse Road, reaching speeds of 120 mph …

by Zak Failla

02/25/2026

Prev Page 308 of 3978 306 307 308 309 310 Next

3,071 - 3,080 of 39,774 articles