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

St. Leonard-Port Republic, MD
Breaking News
Driver Airlifted After Tesla Crushed Between Two Trucks In Route 4 Crash, Calvert Sheriff Says Driver Airlifted After Tesla Crushed Between Two Trucks In Route 4 Crash, Calvert Sheriff Says Driver Airlifted After Tesla Crushed Between Two Trucks In Route 4 Crash, Calvert Sheriff Says
Driver Airlifted After Tesla Crushed Between Two Trucks In Route 4 Crash, Calvert Sheriff Says A Virginia Tesla driver had to be airlifted to the hospital with critical injuries after being crushed between two trucks at a busy Maryland intersection. The crash was reported just before 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, when deputies from the Calvert County Sheriff's Office responded to a stretch of Route 4 near Ball Road in St. Leonard, officials said. Investigators said that a 2019 Freightliner truck driven by Baltimore resident Erbert Locklear Jr., 64, was heading south on Route 4 approaching the intersection with Ball Road. At the same time, a 2007 International truck, operated b…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Officer Dies Weeks After Being Struck Helping Stranded Motorist On I-695 DC Officer Dies Weeks After Being Struck Helping Stranded Motorist On I-695 DC Officer Dies Weeks After Being Struck Helping Stranded Motorist On I-695
DC Officer Dies Weeks After Being Struck Helping Stranded Motorist On I-695 A Metropolitan Police Department officer who was seriously injured while helping a stranded motorist on I-695 last month has died, officials announced, turning a late-night highway crash into a line-of-duty death for the District. Officer Terry Bennett, 32, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, after being struck by a vehicle while assisting a driver who ran out of gas in the eastbound lanes of I-695 near South Capitol Street, MPD said. The crash happened at approximately 10:10 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, when Bennett was on foot outside of his cruiser helping the strand…

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by Zak Failla
Leonardtown-California, MD
Breaking News
Home Destroyed, Pets Killed After Motorist Spots Flames In Overnight Leonardtown Blaze Home Destroyed, Pets Killed After Motorist Spots Flames In Overnight Leonardtown Blaze Home Destroyed, Pets Killed After Motorist Spots Flames In Overnight Leonardtown Blaze
Home Destroyed, Pets Killed After Motorist Spots Flames In Overnight Leonardtown Blaze An early-morning house fire destroyed a St. Mary's County home and killed three pets after flames were spotted by a passing motorist. The blaze broke out around 12:45 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8 in the 42000 block of Fairgrounds Road in Leonardtown, according to the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Fire officials said the blaze involved a two-story single-family home and was discovered by a passing motorist who called for help. No one was home at the time of the fire, officials said, though two dogs and a cat died as a result of the blaze. Firefighters from the Leonardtown Voluntee…

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
Trump Jumps In After Ravens Fire John Harbaugh, Urges NFL Teams To Hire Him 'FAST' Trump Jumps In After Ravens Fire John Harbaugh, Urges NFL Teams To Hire Him 'FAST' Trump Jumps In After Ravens Fire John Harbaugh, Urges NFL Teams To Hire Him 'FAST'
Trump Jumps In After Ravens Fire John Harbaugh, Urges NFL Teams To Hire Him 'FAST' Fired Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh got a heck of an endorsement following his surprise ousting on Tuesday. During an early-morning barrage of messages on Truth Social, President Donald Trump called on teams to hire Harbaugh, who was let go by the Ravens after 18 mostly successful seasons. Trump praised both John Harbaugh and his brother Jim, the current coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, whose San Francisco 49ers lost to the Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII. President Donald Trump had a message to NFL teams on Wednesday. Truth Social "HIRE JOHN HARBAUGH, FAST. HE, AND HIS BROTHER…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Gun Goes Off, Truck Goes Through Fence In Wild Alexandria Crash: Police Gun Goes Off, Truck Goes Through Fence In Wild Alexandria Crash: Police Gun Goes Off, Truck Goes Through Fence In Wild Alexandria Crash: Police
Gun Goes Off, Truck Goes Through Fence In Wild Alexandria Crash: Police A Virginia driver suffered an apparent accidental gunshot wound before crashing into a fence along a busy roadway Wednesday afternoon, police said. The incident unfolded around 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 7 near the 4500 block of Seminary Road, according to the Alexandria Police Department. Police said the driver accidentally discharged a firearm, was wounded, and then crashed the vehicle into a wooden fence along the sidewalk. The driver was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Yellow police tape surrounded the damaged vehicle as investigators worked the scene. The…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Obituaries
He Fixed Everything — And In Death, Everett “Teeny” Conway Is Still Giving Life In Virginia He Fixed Everything — And In Death, Everett “Teeny” Conway Is Still Giving Life In Virginia He Fixed Everything — And In Death, Everett “Teeny” Conway Is Still Giving Life In Virginia
He Fixed Everything — And In Death, Everett “Teeny” Conway Is Still Giving Life In Virginia Everett Conway, known as “Teeny” to his loved ones in Virginia, was the kind of man people called when something broke, his family and friends said. That instinct to help did not stop with his life. Conway died after a crash in Virginia on Friday morning, Jan. 2, after suffering life-threatening injuries, according to his family. The 42-year-old was weeks away from celebrating his 43rd birthday at the time of the crash. Friends and loved ones say he was a "jack-of-all-trades" who could fix just about anything and would drop everything to help anyone who needed him. In death, they say, he…

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by Zak Failla
Annandale, VA
Breaking News
Annandale Pedestrian Dies After Early-Morning Hit-Run As Police Seek Driver (UPDATED) Annandale Pedestrian Dies After Early-Morning Hit-Run As Police Seek Driver (UPDATED) Annandale Pedestrian Dies After Early-Morning Hit-Run As Police Seek Driver (UPDATED)
Annandale Pedestrian Dies After Early-Morning Hit-Run As Police Seek Driver (Updated) The pedestrian who was struck by a hit-and-run driver early on Wednesday morning in Virginia has died from his injuries, authorities confirmed. Officers from the Fairfax County Police Department were called shortly after 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, to the intersection of Little River Turnpike and Shelley Lane in Annandale, where there was a reported crash with one person down in the roadway. Crash Reconstruction Unit detectives said Christopher Young, 34, of Annandale, was crossing Little River Turnpike when he was hit by a westbound dark-colored sedan, police said. The driver did not sto…

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by Zak Failla
Adelphi-Langley Park, MD
On Your Side
Ledo Pizza Co-Founder, Former President Thelma W. Beall Dies At 101 Ledo Pizza Co-Founder, Former President Thelma W. Beall Dies At 101 Ledo Pizza Co-Founder, Former President Thelma W. Beall Dies At 101
Ledo Pizza Co-Founder, Former President Thelma W. Beall Dies At 101 A founding force behind one of Maryland’s most recognizable pizza brands has died at 101. Thelma W. Beall, the former president and co-founder of Ledo Pizza, died of natural causes at Anne Arundel Medical Center, her family confirmed.  Beall helped launch Ledo Pizza in 1955 alongside her husband, Bob Beall, opening the original restaurant in Adelphi, according to the company.  In the early days, she worked as a server and hostess while helping build what would become a staple for local families, University of Maryland students, and sports fans. “It is with deep sadness that we announce th…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Obituaries
Recent High School Grad Juggling Two Jobs Killed At 18 In Gaithersburg: 'Taken Far Too Soon' Recent High School Grad Juggling Two Jobs Killed At 18 In Gaithersburg: 'Taken Far Too Soon' Recent High School Grad Juggling Two Jobs Killed At 18 In Gaithersburg: 'Taken Far Too Soon'
Recent High School Grad Juggling Two Jobs Killed At 18 In Gaithersburg: 'Taken Far Too Soon' Taeyon Prather was just 18 years old, newly graduated from high school, and working two jobs in Maryland while planning for his future when his life was cut short. Prather was found dead in a parking lot in Gaithersburg on Friday, and police quickly launched a homicide investigation after determining he had been killed, authorities said. Officers responded to reports of an unresponsive person in a parking lot in the area of Lost Knife Road and Montgomery Village Avenue shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 2.  Prather was pronounced dead at the scene, and investigators later confirmed the …

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by Zak Failla
La Plata, MD
Breaking News
Good Boy Saves The Day: Dog Alerts Family To Fast-Moving La Plata House Fire Good Boy Saves The Day: Dog Alerts Family To Fast-Moving La Plata House Fire Good Boy Saves The Day: Dog Alerts Family To Fast-Moving La Plata House Fire
Good Boy Saves The Day: Dog Alerts Family To Fast-Moving La Plata House Fire A family dog is being credited with saving lives after a fast-moving house fire broke out in Maryland, fire officials said. The blaze was reported shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at a single-story home in the 300 block of Forest Edge Avenue in La Plata, according to the state fire marshal. Investigators said the fire was first discovered after the family dog alerted one of the occupants inside the home, giving residents time to escape before flames spread. Crews from the La Plata Volunteer Fire Department arrived to find fire showing from the garage of the wood-frame home, offi…

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by Zak Failla
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