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

Germantown, MD
Breaking News
Germantown Man Ejected, Killed After Losing Control Of Honda In Damascus Crash Germantown Man Ejected, Killed After Losing Control Of Honda In Damascus Crash Germantown Man Ejected, Killed After Losing Control Of Honda In Damascus Crash
Germantown Man Ejected, Killed After Losing Control Of Honda In Damascus Crash A Montgomery County crash turned deadly before sunrise Sunday when a Germantown man lost control of his Honda and was thrown from the car, police said. Montgomery County Police said officers and firefighters were called around 4:05 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30, to Ridge Road and Kings Valley Road in Damascus, where they found a gray 2013 Honda Civic coupe that had left the roadway, hit a fire hydrant, and overturned after striking an embankment. The driver — 27-year-old Bilcher Ronaldino Huinil Lopez of Germantown — was the only person in the car. Police said he had been ejected and was found in…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
WATCH: Flames Shoot Through Fairfax County Home As Firefighters Battle Raging Blaze WATCH: Flames Shoot Through Fairfax County Home As Firefighters Battle Raging Blaze WATCH: Flames Shoot Through Fairfax County Home As Firefighters Battle Raging Blaze
Watch: Flames Shoot Through Fairfax County Home As Firefighters Battle Raging Blaze A Virginia neighborhood lit up in orange Monday evening as a house fire exploded through the back of a Kings Park West home — and video from the scene shows just how fast the flames took over. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said units were called to the 4700 block of Twinbrook Road around 6:45 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1, where firefighters arrived to find smoke and fire showing from the rear of the home. And the video drives the point home. #FairfaxsBravest are on scene of a house fire in the 4700 block of Twinbrook Rd in the Kings Park West area. Units arrived to find smoke and fire showin…

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by Zak Failla
Clifton-Fairfax Station, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Bus Rider Claims He Has Bomb Before Boarding Fairfax Connector, Police Say Virginia Bus Rider Claims He Has Bomb Before Boarding Fairfax Connector, Police Say Virginia Bus Rider Claims He Has Bomb Before Boarding Fairfax Connector, Police Say
Virginia Bus Rider Claims He Has Bomb Before Boarding Fairfax Connector, Police Say A Sunday morning bus ride in Virginia turned into a full-on bomb scare after a man claimed he had an explosive in his backpack before boarding a Fairfax Connector bus, police said. Fairfax County Police said officers were called around 10:22 a.m. on Nov. 30 to the 8700 block of Richmond Highway in Woodlawn, where 57-year-old Blake Davis Norton, who has no fixed address, allegedly told people he had a bomb in his backpack before getting onto the bus. Officers tracked down the bus and quickly evacuated the area. Police said their Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit examined Norton’s backpack and…

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by Zak Failla
Prince Frederick, MD
Obituaries
Prince Frederick Community Honors Former Chief Brad Rawlings, A Leader Known As ‘Chief 2-A’ Prince Frederick Community Honors Former Chief Brad Rawlings, A Leader Known As ‘Chief 2-A’ Prince Frederick Community Honors Former Chief Brad Rawlings, A Leader Known As ‘Chief 2-A’
Prince Frederick Community Honors Former Chief Brad Rawlings, A Leader Known As ‘Chief 2-A’ Some people leave a mark on a firehouse. Brad Rawlings left fingerprints on the walls, the rigs, the floors — and every firefighter who ever walked through "Company 2’s" doors in Maryland. Calvert County Volunteer Fire-Rescue-EMS announced the passing of past Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Chief Herman “Brad” Rawlings, a man they say changed the department the moment he stepped inside.  Rawlings submitted his application to PFVFD on Oct. 3, 1978, and “somehow the firehouse was never the same. His life and legacy are ingrained in Company 2 and how we continue to operate today." H…

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by Zak Failla
Pikesville, MD
Breaking News
Pikesville Driver Turns 22 — And Is Killed Hours Later In Violent Overnight Crash: Police Pikesville Driver Turns 22 — And Is Killed Hours Later In Violent Overnight Crash: Police Pikesville Driver Turns 22 — And Is Killed Hours Later In Violent Overnight Crash: Police
Pikesville Driver Turns 22 — And Is Killed Hours Later In Violent Overnight Crash: Police It was not the happiest of birthdays for a Maryland driver who was killed in a crash on the day he turned 22. Baltimore County Police said the crash happened around 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 1 in Pikesville, where investigators say a 2004 Toyota Corolla was heading south on Reisterstown Road when it hit a 2020 Lexus RX350 that was making a left turn from the westbound I-695 exit ramp. The driver of the Toyota, 22-year-old Jefferson Mena-Rivas, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. It was his birthday. A woman in the Toyota was taken to a hospital with potentially life-threatening injuri…

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by Zak Failla
Parkville-Carney, MD
Obituaries
Maryland Teen Ja’Nyah Grays, 14, Dies Suddenly After Seizure As Heartbrokekn Community Rallies Maryland Teen Ja’Nyah Grays, 14, Dies Suddenly After Seizure As Heartbrokekn Community Rallies Maryland Teen Ja’Nyah Grays, 14, Dies Suddenly After Seizure As Heartbrokekn Community Rallies
Maryland Teen Ja’Nyah Grays, 14, Dies Suddenly After Seizure As Heartbrokekn Community Rallies Some smiles are so bright they feel permanent — until the day the world realizes they were borrowed time. Family members shared that 14-year-old Ja’Nyah Grays died suddenly and unexpectedly after suffering a seizure early one morning in Maryland.  She “tragically did not recover,” her loved ones wrote in a GoFundMe created in her memory. Her death has left what they described as “a void in our family, our community, and in the hearts of everyone who knew her.” Grays was known for bringing light wherever she went — a joyful, loving teenager with a smile that didn’t just brighten a roo…

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by Zak Failla
Oxon Hill, MD
Obituaries
Maryland Sgt. Joseph Mullendore Dies Of Cancer Just Months Before Hitting 20 Years Of Service Maryland Sgt. Joseph Mullendore Dies Of Cancer Just Months Before Hitting 20 Years Of Service Maryland Sgt. Joseph Mullendore Dies Of Cancer Just Months Before Hitting 20 Years Of Service
Maryland Sgt. Joseph Mullendore Dies Of Cancer Just Months Before Hitting 20 Years Of Service Some people spend a lifetime talking about public service. Sgt. Joseph Mullendore spent his life doing it on the streets of Maryland. The Prince George’s County Police Department announced on Monday, Dec. 1, that Mullendore died last week “following a hard-fought illness.”  He was 50 years old. Mullendore first joined the department in 2006, and over nearly two decades, he served in Oxon Hill – District IV, the former Regional Investigation Division, the Training and Education Division, and most recently, District VI – Beltsville, according to the agency.  Before that, h…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Woodbridge Dad Says Driver Tried To Ram Him With 1-Year-Old In Car During Road Rage: Police Woodbridge Dad Says Driver Tried To Ram Him With 1-Year-Old In Car During Road Rage: Police Woodbridge Dad Says Driver Tried To Ram Him With 1-Year-Old In Car During Road Rage: Police
Woodbridge Dad Says Driver Tried To Ram Him With 1-Year-Old In Car During Road Rage: Police A road-rage argument in Virginia on Thanksgiving went from stupid to terrifying in seconds — and police say a 1-year-old child was caught right in the middle of it. Prince William County Police said officers were called just after 10:23 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27, to the 13000 block of Worth Avenue in Woodbridge for a road-rage report in a parking lot.  A 38-year-old man told investigators he got into a dispute with another driver when the situation took a turn he didn’t see coming. Police said the other driver — Muhammad Azeem, 47, of Woodbridge — allegedly hit the man’s vehicle, leav…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Man Nearly Splits Car In Half After 95-MPH Pursuit Ends In Fiery Crash, Sheriff Says Virginia Man Nearly Splits Car In Half After 95-MPH Pursuit Ends In Fiery Crash, Sheriff Says Virginia Man Nearly Splits Car In Half After 95-MPH Pursuit Ends In Fiery Crash, Sheriff Says
Virginia Man Nearly Splits Car In Half After 95-mph Pursuit Ends In Fiery Crash, Sheriff Says Christian Gervais was not as swift as he thought. A late-night police chase through three Virginia counties ended with a shredded Dodge, a stunned deputy, and a 22-year-old driver who reportedly told the sheriff he ran because he “thought I was wanted from Maryland.” That explanation didn’t make much sense to Culpeper County deputies — and for anyone looking at what was left of the car, the chase itself won’t either. Christian Gervais Culpeper Police Department The Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office said the incident began Saturday, Nov. 29, when a deputy tried to overtake a speeding…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Family Loses Everything In House Fire As Community Raises $100K In Two Days (PHOTOS) Virginia Family Loses Everything In House Fire As Community Raises $100K In Two Days (PHOTOS) Virginia Family Loses Everything In House Fire As Community Raises $100K In Two Days (PHOTOS)
Virginia Family Loses Everything In House Fire As Community Raises $100K In Two Days (Photos) It takes only a few minutes for a house to fall apart — and only a few hours for a community to pull one back together. Norfolk Fire-Rescue said the call came in around 10:20 a.m. for a residential fire.  When crews got to Buckingham Avenue, they found heavy smoke and flames pouring from the rear of the home, the kind of fire that leaves little room for questions and even less for error. Attack lines went inside fast as firefighters worked to knock down the blaze. By then, the damage was already done. The family of six who lived there — two parents and their four young children — mad…

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by Zak Failla
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