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

Prince Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Child Found Alone In Pickup After Man Hits School Bus, Crashes In Huntingtown: Sheriff Child Found Alone In Pickup After Man Hits School Bus, Crashes In Huntingtown: Sheriff Child Found Alone In Pickup After Man Hits School Bus, Crashes In Huntingtown: Sheriff
Child Found Alone In Pickup After Man Hits School Bus, Crashes In Huntingtown: Sheriff A Maryland man is accused of slamming into a school bus, fleeing the scene, crashing again — and leaving a 5-year-old sitting alone inside his damaged truck, deputies say. Deputies were dispatched to Plum Point Elementary School in Huntingtown to investigate a reported hit-and-run involving a school bus and a white Chevrolet pickup, according to the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office. Witnesses identified the driver as Brian Paul Davis, 41, of Prince Frederick, and reported that he sped out of the parking lot, driving erratically and spinning his tires as he left, deputies said. While investi…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
She Wouldn’t Go Quietly: 13-Year-Old Girl Charged After Kicking Officers In Manassas She Wouldn’t Go Quietly: 13-Year-Old Girl Charged After Kicking Officers In Manassas She Wouldn’t Go Quietly: 13-Year-Old Girl Charged After Kicking Officers In Manassas
She Wouldn’t Go Quietly: 13-Year-Old Girl Charged After Kicking Officers In Manassas She didn't go down without a fight. That cannot be denied. A 13-year-old girl is facing nearly a dozen charges after what police describe as a violent outburst at a juvenile shelter in Virginia, authorities said. Officers in Prince William County were called shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, to the Molinari Juvenile Shelter on Wellington Road in Manassas to investigate an assault involving a staff member, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Police said the 13-year-old Woodbridge girl had assaulted an employee at the shelter before officers arrived. When o…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Obituaries
Promising 18-Year-Old Student Remembered For Kindness After Fatal Pond Crash In Maryland Promising 18-Year-Old Student Remembered For Kindness After Fatal Pond Crash In Maryland Promising 18-Year-Old Student Remembered For Kindness After Fatal Pond Crash In Maryland
Promising 18-Year-Old Student Remembered For Kindness After Fatal Pond Crash In Maryland An 18-year-old Rockville High School graduate was killed when his car plunged into a frozen pond in Salisbury, leaving his devastated family grappling with the unthinkable. Matthew Garcia, a recent graduate who was studying international business in the Perdue School of Business at the University of Salisbury, is being remembered for his "kindness, generosity, and the way he brought warmth to those around him" after he died in a crash that sent his car into a frozen pond. At approximately 8:41 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, officers from the Fruitland Police Department responded to S. Div…

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by Zak Failla
Clarksburg, MD
Breaking News
Teen Peeping Tom Recorded Women While Working At Clarksburg Banana Republic: Police Teen Peeping Tom Recorded Women While Working At Clarksburg Banana Republic: Police Teen Peeping Tom Recorded Women While Working At Clarksburg Banana Republic: Police
Teen Peeping Tom Recorded Women While Working At Clarksburg Banana Republic: Police A 19-year-old Peeping Tom working at a Maryland clothing store was arrested after allegedly filming multiple women in a dressing room, according to police. Now, detectives in Montgomery County are concerned there may be additional victims who have not come forward. Fabio Delrio, 19, of Clarksburg, was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 11, after investigators say he secretly recorded women inside dressing rooms at the Banana Republic in the 22000 block of Clarksburg Road. The investigation began on Saturday, May 10, 2025, around 7 p.m., when Delrio — who was employed at the store at the time — al…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
70-Year-Old Man Fatally Struck Crossing Busy Woodbridge Highway During Rush Hour: Police 70-Year-Old Man Fatally Struck Crossing Busy Woodbridge Highway During Rush Hour: Police 70-Year-Old Man Fatally Struck Crossing Busy Woodbridge Highway During Rush Hour: Police
70-Year-Old Man Fatally Struck Crossing Busy Woodbridge Highway During Rush Hour: Police A 70-year-old man was fatally struck while trying to cross a heavily traveled Virginia highway during the evening rush, police said. Woodbridge resident Julio Carlos Cruz Merino has been identified as the pedestrian who was killed by a teen driver crossing Richmond Highway in Prince William County on Tuesday evening. According to the Prince William County Police Department, at around 6 p.m. on Feb. 17, officers were called to a stretch of the highway near Opitz Boulevard in Woodbridge, where there were reports of a pedestrian who had been struck by a 2025 Toyota Camry in the southbound lane…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Corrections Officer Indicted For Assaulting Detainee, Filing False Report Baltimore Corrections Officer Indicted For Assaulting Detainee, Filing False Report Baltimore Corrections Officer Indicted For Assaulting Detainee, Filing False Report
Baltimore Corrections Officer Indicted For Assaulting Detainee, Filing False Report A Maryland corrections officer accused of assaulting a juvenile in custody — and then filing a false report about it — has been indicted, prosecutors announced Tuesday. Correctional Officer Dewaun Gough is facing assault and other charges after a Feb. 17 indictment, according to the Baltimore City State’s Attorney. The case stems from March 14, 2025, inside the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center on North Gay Street. Prosecutors allege Gough assaulted a juvenile who was being detained at the facility. The indictment further alleges Gough “willfully made a false entry in a public record…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
BMW, Fentanyl, Firearms, Seized In Sweeping Virginia Drug Takedown, Sheriff Says BMW, Fentanyl, Firearms, Seized In Sweeping Virginia Drug Takedown, Sheriff Says BMW, Fentanyl, Firearms, Seized In Sweeping Virginia Drug Takedown, Sheriff Says
BMW, Fentanyl, Firearms, Seized In Sweeping Virginia Drug Takedown, Sheriff Says Tens of thousands of dollars worth of drugs are off the streets in Virginia following a lengthy investigation into a pair of alleged dealers who were busted with cocaine, fentanyl, and other controlled substances. Woodbridge residents Abdulah Zahid and Smad Zahid are both facing a host of charges following an investigation by the Blue Ridge Narcotics and Gang Task Force, according to the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office. Over the weekend, detectives executed search warrants on the 16700 block of Blackjack Oak Lane and the 2900 block of Wetherburn Court in Prince William County, leading to a…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Judge Blocks ICE From Re-Detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia After Maryland Deportation Error Judge Blocks ICE From Re-Detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia After Maryland Deportation Error Judge Blocks ICE From Re-Detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia After Maryland Deportation Error
Judge Blocks ICE From Re-Detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia After Maryland Deportation Error The "Maryland man" who set off a national firestorm after he was mistakenly deported to a high-level prison cannot be re-detained by ICE, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. On Feb. 17, US District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Kilmar Abrego Garcia could not be placed back into custody due to a 90-day detention period that had expired. With the federal government having no viable plan set in place for the Salvadoran national, Xinis determined that ICE cannot re-detain him, a blow to the federal government, which has been attempting to deport him for more than a year. The government “made one …

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by Zak Failla
Germantown, MD
Breaking News
Man Rescued From Back Deck After Car Fire Explodes Into Germantown Townhouse: Officials Man Rescued From Back Deck After Car Fire Explodes Into Germantown Townhouse: Officials Man Rescued From Back Deck After Car Fire Explodes Into Germantown Townhouse: Officials
Man Rescued From Back Deck After Car Fire Explodes Into Germantown Townhouse: Officials A vehicle fire spread to a Maryland townhouse Tuesday evening, prompting a second alarm response and displacing three adults, officials said. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service crews were dispatched at 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, to the 20800 block of Gaelic Court in Germantown for a reported vehicle fire, according to spokesperson David Pazos. Crews arrived to find fire extending from the vehicle into the townhouse, prompting an additional alarm. One man had to be rescued from a back deck during the incident. All three adult residents were accounted for and were not injured…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
Trump Backtracks On Potomac Sewage Spill, Tells Officials To 'Call Me Politely' Trump Backtracks On Potomac Sewage Spill, Tells Officials To 'Call Me Politely' Trump Backtracks On Potomac Sewage Spill, Tells Officials To 'Call Me Politely'
Trump Backtracks On Potomac Sewage Spill, Tells Officials To 'Call Me Politely' The political fight over the record-setting Potomac sewage spill escalated Tuesday, as President Donald Trump shifted his stance on federal involvement — and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore quickly fired back. Less than a day after directing federal authorities and FEMA to step in, Trump declared Tuesday morning that “The Federal Government is not at all involved” in the massive wastewater spill flooding the Potomac River. “Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., who are responsible for the massive sewage spill in the Potomac River, must get to work, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote at 10:55 a.m. on Tru…

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by Zak Failla
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