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

Linganore-New Market, MD
Breaking News
NJ Trucker Whose Partner Was Found Stabbed In New Market Costco Depot Learns Prison Fate NJ Trucker Whose Partner Was Found Stabbed In New Market Costco Depot Learns Prison Fate NJ Trucker Whose Partner Was Found Stabbed In New Market Costco Depot Learns Prison Fate
NJ Trucker Whose Partner Was Found Stabbed In New Market Costco Depot Learns Prison Fate A New Jersey truck driver with a history of domestic violence will spend decades in prison after his partner was found stabbed to death in a tractor-trailer at a Costco Depot in Maryland, authorities announced. Matthew Sidney Watley, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty last month to the murder of his partner, Candice Thompson, in September 2023. Officials say that a strange, ultimately deadly scene played out at the Costco Distribution Center on Intercoastal Drive in New Market shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24…

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by Zak Failla
Annandale, VA
Breaking News
Trooper Hospitalized After Lexus SUV Slams Into Patrol Car On I-66 In Virginia: Police Trooper Hospitalized After Lexus SUV Slams Into Patrol Car On I-66 In Virginia: Police Trooper Hospitalized After Lexus SUV Slams Into Patrol Car On I-66 In Virginia: Police
Trooper Hospitalized After Lexus SUV Slams Into Patrol Car On I-66 In Virginia: Police A Virginia State Police trooper was taken to the hospital after an SUV slammed into his patrol car while he was working a crash on I-66 early Thursday morning, officials said. The crash happened around 6:40 a.m. on Nov. 21 along the eastbound lanes of the Beltway, according to Virginia State Police. Investigators said the trooper was inside his vehicle in the right Express Lane with his emergency lights on.  He was working an earlier crash between a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle that was blocking the left lane of the main lanes and the right lane of the Express Lanes. While…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Gunman Who Pulled Uzi-Style Pistol On Family With Kids Aboard Metrobus Learns Prison Fate DC Gunman Who Pulled Uzi-Style Pistol On Family With Kids Aboard Metrobus Learns Prison Fate DC Gunman Who Pulled Uzi-Style Pistol On Family With Kids Aboard Metrobus Learns Prison Fate
DC Gunman Who Pulled Uzi-Style Pistol On Family With Kids Aboard Metrobus Learns Prison Fate A DC man who pulled out a Uzi-style pistol on a crowded Metrobus and threatened to kill a family with two small children will spend years in prison, federal authorities announced. According to the US Attorney’s Office, 29-year-old Ricardo Rush was sentenced to 60 months in prison after he threatened a man, woman, and their two young children during a violent outburst in March that was caught on camera. Court documents say Rush boarded a WMATA bus shortly before 11:30 a.m. on the 300 block of Ridge Road SE. Four minutes later, the family boarded from the 4800 block of Texas Avenue SE, sittin…

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
Diplomat’s Daughter Convicted Again In Deadly Rockville Stabbing After Retrial, Prosecutors Say Diplomat’s Daughter Convicted Again In Deadly Rockville Stabbing After Retrial, Prosecutors Say Diplomat’s Daughter Convicted Again In Deadly Rockville Stabbing After Retrial, Prosecutors Say
Diplomat’s Daughter Convicted Again In Deadly Rockville Stabbing After Retrial, Prosecutors Say The daughter of a former US ambassador has been convicted — again — for her role in a fatal alcohol-fueled stabbing in 2020. DC resident Sophia Negroponte, 32, the adopted daughter of John Negroponte, has been convicted for the second time in connection with the stabbing death of 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen in Montgomery County, the state's attorney's office announced on Thursday, Nov. 20.  This was a retrial. In January of 2024, the Maryland Court of Appeals overturned Negroponte’s original second-degree murder conviction. What started as a fun evening among several friend…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Fairfax County Firefighter With Search Dog ‘Peter Pan’ Promoted To Deputy Chief Fairfax County Firefighter With Search Dog ‘Peter Pan’ Promoted To Deputy Chief Fairfax County Firefighter With Search Dog ‘Peter Pan’ Promoted To Deputy Chief
Fairfax County Firefighter With Search Dog ‘Peter Pan’ Promoted To Deputy Chief Fairfax County Fire & Rescue is promoting one of its longest-serving and most accomplished members.  Fire Chief John Butler announced that Battalion Chief Matthew Cox will become the department’s newest Deputy Chief, effective Saturday, Dec. 13. Cox has spent more than two decades with the department, serving in stations across Fairfax County and taking on leadership roles in operations, administration, and training.  His fire service career began in 1989 as a volunteer with the Virginia Tech Rescue Squad, where he earned his EMT certification. He also worked as an emergency …

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Shelter Boss Stole Nearly $200K From Homeless Women, Kids, Feds Say Virginia Shelter Boss Stole Nearly $200K From Homeless Women, Kids, Feds Say Virginia Shelter Boss Stole Nearly $200K From Homeless Women, Kids, Feds Say
Virginia Shelter Boss Stole Nearly $200K From Homeless Women, Kids, Feds Say A Virginia woman trusted to run a homeless shelter for women and children has admitted to stealing nearly $200,000 in taxpayer funding meant to care for some of Richmond’s most vulnerable residents. 41-year-old Kia A. Player pleaded guilty to wire fraud after investigators uncovered a sweeping scheme that relied on fake invoices, phony vendors, and bogus bills for services that never happened at her shelter, RVA Sister’s Keeper, according to the US Attorney's Office. Court documents say Player was granted nearly $1 million in public funding to operate the inclement weather shelter.&nbs…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
Judge Rules National Guard Patrols In DC Illegal As AG Warns Of ‘Dangerous Precedent’ Judge Rules National Guard Patrols In DC Illegal As AG Warns Of ‘Dangerous Precedent’ Judge Rules National Guard Patrols In DC Illegal As AG Warns Of ‘Dangerous Precedent’
Judge Rules National Guard Patrols In DC Illegal As AG Warns Of ‘Dangerous Precedent’ A federal judge has ruled that the National Guard was illegally deployed in Washington, DC, following months of military patrols across the city, officials announced. US District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the federal government did not have the legal authority to deploy the DC National Guard or out-of-state Guard units for crime-deterrence patrols in the city on Thursday, Nov. 20.  The court granted a preliminary injunction blocking the deployment but stayed the order for 21 days to allow time for appeal. DC Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb said the ruling confirms what the District …

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by Zak Failla
Cloverly-Colesville-Fairland, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man Found Dead During Fairland Investigation Into Shooting Blocks Away, Police Say Maryland Man Found Dead During Fairland Investigation Into Shooting Blocks Away, Police Say Maryland Man Found Dead During Fairland Investigation Into Shooting Blocks Away, Police Say
Maryland Man Found Dead During Fairland Investigation Into Shooting Blocks Away, Police Say Police in Maryland are investigating two violent incidents in the same Fairland neighborhood after a man was found shot dead Wednesday night, November 19, officials said. The first call came in around 7:54 p.m. in the 3400 block of Robey Terrace, when officers and fire personnel found a man suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the Montgomery County Department of Police. Investigators said the man told officers he had been shot near Aston Manor Drive and ran to Robey Terrace, where someone called 911.  He was taken to a hospital, alert and conscious. About an hour later, while…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Obituaries
Virginia Family Grieves Bicyclist Killed In Hit-Run: 'Thank You For Being The Best Brother' Virginia Family Grieves Bicyclist Killed In Hit-Run: 'Thank You For Being The Best Brother' Virginia Family Grieves Bicyclist Killed In Hit-Run: 'Thank You For Being The Best Brother'
Virginia Family Grieves Bicyclist Killed In Hit-Run: 'Thank You For Being The Best Brother' A Virginia family is facing a nightmare they never imagined after a beloved brother and son was killed in a hit-and-run crash while riding his bike, leaving a community grieving and his younger brother shattered. Ryan Damon lost his life on Wednesday, Nov. 19, when he was struck by a flatbed truck while riding his bike in Framingham, according to a fundraiser organized by Danica Roem for Ethan Damon.  The driver was later arrested for leaving the scene of a personal injury causing death. Damon died the same day he was struck, leaving behind a family now navigating grief, shock, and th…

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by Zak Failla
Reston, VA
Breaking News
Reston Man Tackled Cyclist On W&OD Trail, Exposed Himself At Hotel, Police Say Reston Man Tackled Cyclist On W&OD Trail, Exposed Himself At Hotel, Police Say Reston Man Tackled Cyclist On W&OD Trail, Exposed Himself At Hotel, Police Say
Reston Man Tackled Cyclist On W&OD Trail, Exposed Himself At Hotel, Police Say A Virginia man is behind bars after police say he carried out a series of disturbing and unpredictable attacks along the W&OD Trail and surrounding neighborhoods. Fairfax County Police said the incidents began on Thursday, Oct. 30, when an unknown man “jumped in front of a female bicyclist on the W&OD trail and tackled her off her bike before fleeing.” Two days later, on Saturday, Nov. 1, the same suspect reportedly entered a hotel room in the 12100 block of Sunset Hills Road.  Police said the man claimed he was security and looking for someone “who defecated on the sidewalk.”…

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by Zak Failla
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