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

Silver Spring, MD
On Your Side
Olympic Icon Dominique Dawes Bringing New Gymnastics Academy Home To Silver Spring Olympic Icon Dominique Dawes Bringing New Gymnastics Academy Home To Silver Spring Olympic Icon Dominique Dawes Bringing New Gymnastics Academy Home To Silver Spring
Olympic Icon Dominique Dawes Bringing New Gymnastics Academy Home To Silver Spring After a lifetime in gymnastics that took her to Olympic podiums and national stages, Dominique Dawes is coming home. The Maryland native announced she will open a new Dominique Dawes Academy location in Silver Spring in 2026, adding another hometown chapter to her growing presence in Montgomery County. The new facility will reportedly be located at 12006 Plum Orchard Drive in the White Oak area of Silver Spring. “As I reflect on the past year and really a lifetime of work in gymnastics, I’m excited to open up more gyms in 2026, starting in Silver Spring, and then in Alpharetta, (Georgia),”…

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by Zak Failla
Bladensburg-Cheverly, MD
Breaking News
Bladensburg Teen Charged As Adult In DC Recording Studio Murder Will Remain Jailed, Feds Say Bladensburg Teen Charged As Adult In DC Recording Studio Murder Will Remain Jailed, Feds Say Bladensburg Teen Charged As Adult In DC Recording Studio Murder Will Remain Jailed, Feds Say
Bladensburg Teen Charged As Adult In DC Recording Studio Murder Will Remain Jailed, Feds Say A Maryland teenager charged in the murder of a 20-year-old man inside a DC apartment recording studio will remain behind bars as the case moves forward, federal prosecutors announced. Keyonte Johnson, 16, of Bladensburg, was arrested and charged as an adult with premeditated first-degree murder while armed in connection with the killing of Roy Lee Bennett Jr. on Friday, Dec. 5, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Shortly after 8 p.m., officers from the Metropolitan Police Department were called to an apartment near Union Market in Northeast DC that was being …

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by Zak Failla
Aldie, VA
Breaking News
Aldie Driver Dies After New Year’s Eve Crash Injuries First Deemed Non-Life-Threatening: Police Aldie Driver Dies After New Year’s Eve Crash Injuries First Deemed Non-Life-Threatening: Police Aldie Driver Dies After New Year’s Eve Crash Injuries First Deemed Non-Life-Threatening: Police
Aldie Driver Dies After New Year’s Eve Crash Injuries First Deemed Non-Life-Threatening: Police A 24-year-old Virginia man died at a local hospital after losing control of his vehicle and crashing into a tree on New Year's Eve, authorities announced. Aldie resident Grant Faircloth has been identified by the Fairfax County Police Department as the driver killed in a single-vehicle crash on Wednesday, Dec. 31 in Fair Oaks. According to police, shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Faircloth was driving in the area of Post Forest Drive and Government Center Parkway, where there was a report of a 2010 Toyota Prius that left the roadway and smashed into a tree near the Fairfax County gove…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Bathroom DJ At CVS: Man Played Music In Women’s Restroom In Fredericksburg, Sheriff Says Bathroom DJ At CVS: Man Played Music In Women’s Restroom In Fredericksburg, Sheriff Says Bathroom DJ At CVS: Man Played Music In Women’s Restroom In Fredericksburg, Sheriff Says
Bathroom DJ At CVS: Man Played Music In Women’s Restroom In Fredericksburg, Sheriff Says Shoppers didn’t expect a soundtrack with their prescriptions — but that’s what deputies say they got on New Year's Eve. Fredericksburg resident Qwevonne Tyece Smith, 30, was arrested after deputies say he barricaded himself inside a women’s restroom at a CVS in Virginia, yelled, and played music before being taken into custody on Dec. 31, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the CVS on Chatham Heights Road in Fredericksburg shortly before 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, after store staff reported a disturbance involving a man who had been occupying the female res…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Gate Smashed As Suspect Runs Into Home To End Police Chase In Virginia: Sheriff Gate Smashed As Suspect Runs Into Home To End Police Chase In Virginia: Sheriff Gate Smashed As Suspect Runs Into Home To End Police Chase In Virginia: Sheriff
Gate Smashed As Suspect Runs Into Home To End Police Chase In Virginia: Sheriff A speeding stop in Virginia didn’t end on the shoulder of the road — it ended at a smashed gate and inside a stranger’s house. Omar Abdelhalim, a 22-year-old Sterling man who is no stranger to police, was arrested after deputies say he led deputies on a high-speed chase, crashed through the front of a gated community, and ran into a home before being taken into custody, according to the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office. The incident began shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, when a sheriff's deputy on patrol on Route 3 spotted a driver speeding through the area, officials said. When th…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
On Your Side
Frederick Co-Workers Miss Millions By One Number, Still Land $50K To Kickoff 2026 Frederick Co-Workers Miss Millions By One Number, Still Land $50K To Kickoff 2026 Frederick Co-Workers Miss Millions By One Number, Still Land $50K To Kickoff 2026
Frederick Co-Workers Miss Millions By One Number, Still Land $50K To Kickoff 2026 Fourteen co-workers. One Powerball ticket. One number short of millions — and still $50,000 richer going into the new year. The group of Frederick-area co-workers, calling themselves “Holiday Bonus,” split a $50,000 third-tier Powerball prize after hitting five of six winning numbers in the Wednesday, Dec. 24 drawing, Maryland Lottery officials announced. The win came on Christmas Eve, when the Powerball jackpot had climbed to $1.817 billion and was ultimately won on a ticket sold in Arkansas, according to the Maryland Lottery. The co-workers began pooling money when the jackpot surged tow…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
On Your Side
After Fire Destroys Historic Hampden Hardware Store, Community Rallies To Help Neighbors After Fire Destroys Historic Hampden Hardware Store, Community Rallies To Help Neighbors After Fire Destroys Historic Hampden Hardware Store, Community Rallies To Help Neighbors
After Fire Destroys Historic Hampden Hardware Store, Community Rallies To Help Neighbors A fire tore through a familiar corner of Maryland before sunrise — and by daylight, an entire neighborhood was already figuring out how to help. Baltimore firefighters responded to a two-alarm blaze at Falkenhan’s Hardware in Hampden early Monday, Dec. 15, after calls came in around 6:30 a.m. for a fire in the 700 block of West 34th Street at Chestnut Street, city fire officials said. Crews arrived to find the two-story, mixed-use building fully involved, with the fire appearing to start on the first floor before spreading, officials said. The building was unoccupied at the time. By 7:41 a…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Crowbar, Gun Pulled During Road Rage On Busy Annapolis Highway, State Police Say Crowbar, Gun Pulled During Road Rage On Busy Annapolis Highway, State Police Say Crowbar, Gun Pulled During Road Rage On Busy Annapolis Highway, State Police Say
Crowbar, Gun Pulled During Road Rage On Busy Annapolis Highway, State Police Say What started as a December drive turned into a felony investigation on one of Maryland’s busiest highways. Maryland State Police arrested Annapolis resident Kaila Crews, 29, following an alleged road rage incident involving a crowbar and a gun on US Route 50 in Anne Arundel County last month, authorities announced Friday, January 2. Troopers said the incident happened on Wednesday, Dec. 18, when officers from the Maryland State Police Annapolis Barrack responded to the westbound lanes of US Route 50 near I-97 after a report of a road rage encounter. According to police, the victim told tro…

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Domestic Call Explodes After Man Headbutts Officer During Arrest In Triangle: Police Domestic Call Explodes After Man Headbutts Officer During Arrest In Triangle: Police Domestic Call Explodes After Man Headbutts Officer During Arrest In Triangle: Police
Domestic Call Explodes After Man Headbutts Officer During Arrest In Triangle: Police It wasn’t even 1:30 in the morning when police say a domestic call in Virginia turned physical — and ended with a headbutt and a man in handcuffs. Antonio Dayonte Quander, a 32-year-old Triangle man, is accused of grabbing one officer and headbutting another while police tried to detain him during a domestic incident early New Year’s Eve, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Officers were called around 1:06 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31, to a home in the 3400 block of Melrose Avenue in Triangle to investigate a reported domestic situation, police said. During the investig…

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by Zak Failla
Edgewood, MD
Breaking News
Gun Goes Off Inside Car, Wounding Man To Welcome The New Year In Edgewood: Sheriff Gun Goes Off Inside Car, Wounding Man To Welcome The New Year In Edgewood: Sheriff Gun Goes Off Inside Car, Wounding Man To Welcome The New Year In Edgewood: Sheriff
Gun Goes Off Inside Car, Wounding Man To Welcome The New Year In Edgewood: Sheriff The new year barely began when gunfire sent a young man to the hospital in Maryland. Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating a shooting that left a 21-year-old man wounded early New Year’s Day after a handgun discharged inside a vehicle in Edgewood, authorities said. Deputies assigned to the Southern Precinct were dispatched to a Baltimore-area hospital around 3:00 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 1, after a walk-in victim reported he had been shot. When deputies arrived, they spoke with a family member who witnessed the shooting, according to investigators. The victim, who was sh…

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by Zak Failla
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