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

Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Officer Jumps Onto Moving Car After Being Hit By Fleeing Driver In Woodbridge, Police Say Officer Jumps Onto Moving Car After Being Hit By Fleeing Driver In Woodbridge, Police Say Officer Jumps Onto Moving Car After Being Hit By Fleeing Driver In Woodbridge, Police Say
Officer Jumps Onto Moving Car After Being Hit By Fleeing Driver In Woodbridge, Police Say A police officer in Virginia was forced to jump onto the trunk of a moving car to avoid being run over after a driver threw the vehicle in reverse and struck him during a stop in Woodbridge, authorities said. The chaos unfolded on Monday, Nov. 17, around 3:37 p.m. in the 14500 block of Richmond Highway, according to the Prince William County Police Department.  Officers had approached a black Infiniti sedan displaying a stolen Virginia license plate, police said. Before they could reach the driver, the suspect suddenly reversed, hit another vehicle, and then slammed into an officer st…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Dad Gunned Down Visiting Daughter: Second Shooter Convicted Years Later: AG Baltimore Dad Gunned Down Visiting Daughter: Second Shooter Convicted Years Later: AG Baltimore Dad Gunned Down Visiting Daughter: Second Shooter Convicted Years Later: AG
Baltimore Dad Gunned Down Visiting Daughter: Second Shooter Convicted Years Later: AG The second man involved in the deadly daylight ambush that killed a young Maryland father on his way to visit his daughter has now been convicted, officials announced. Attorney General Anthony Brown said on Wednesday, Nov. 19, that 24-year-old Andrew Curry of Baltimore City was found guilty in connection with the 2023 killing of 27-year-old Desmond Gardner following a five-day trial.  Curry was 21 at the time of the murder. Gardner was shot and killed on Jan. 26, 2023, in the 3400 block of Spelman Road in the Cherry Hill neighborhood.  Prosecutors said he was on his lunch break …

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
How One Loose Wire Took Down Baltimore’s Key Bridge, Killing Six Workers, NTSB Says How One Loose Wire Took Down Baltimore’s Key Bridge, Killing Six Workers, NTSB Says How One Loose Wire Took Down Baltimore’s Key Bridge, Killing Six Workers, NTSB Says
How One Loose Wire Took Down Baltimore’s Key Bridge, Killing Six Workers, NTSB Says A single loose wire on a 984-foot cargo ship caused the electrical blackouts that sent the vessel drifting into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing the span and killing six highway workers, the NTSB announced in Washington. Investigators said the loose wire in the Dali’s electrical system caused a breaker to unexpectedly open near the 2.37-mile-long bridge on March 26, 2024.  The sudden loss of power triggered two blackouts and a total loss of propulsion and steering as the giant ship closed in on the crossing. According to the NTSB, the wire-label banding on one of the s…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Florida Man Used TikTok In Maryland To Threaten Americans With Terror Imagery, Feds Say Florida Man Used TikTok In Maryland To Threaten Americans With Terror Imagery, Feds Say Florida Man Used TikTok In Maryland To Threaten Americans With Terror Imagery, Feds Say
Florida Man Used TikTok In Maryland To Threaten Americans With Terror Imagery, Feds Say A Florida man who took to social media to make threats and celebrate violence against Americans while living in Maryland has been arrested, federal authorities announced. Arsham Rashidi Dizajgan, 27, was arrested in Florida following an investigation into his TikTok account, where he posted photographs, videos, and comments condemning Americans and non-Muslims and celebrating violence against them. “Threats to the safety and security of American citizens will not be tolerated, particularly when such threats adopt the language and tactics of violent extremists and foreign terrorist…

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by Zak Failla
Lutherville-Timonium, MD
Breaking News
Cocaine Kingpin Busted With 75 Kilos At Inner Harbor Sting In Baltimore Learns Prison Fate Cocaine Kingpin Busted With 75 Kilos At Inner Harbor Sting In Baltimore Learns Prison Fate Cocaine Kingpin Busted With 75 Kilos At Inner Harbor Sting In Baltimore Learns Prison Fate
Cocaine Kingpin Busted With 75 Kilos At Inner Harbor Sting In Baltimore Learns Prison Fate A Baltimore man will spend more than a decade in prison after an episode of "The Wire" played out in real life and he was busted hauling 75 kilos of cocaine in duffel bags during a sting at National Harbor. Desmond Jones, 45, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances after a yearlong federal investigation into a Baltimore drug trafficking organization. On Wednesday, federal authorities announced that Jones has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. According t…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Speeding Manassas Driver, Yorkie Killed In Head-On Crash On Busy Virginia Road: Police Speeding Manassas Driver, Yorkie Killed In Head-On Crash On Busy Virginia Road: Police Speeding Manassas Driver, Yorkie Killed In Head-On Crash On Busy Virginia Road: Police
Speeding Manassas Driver, Yorkie Killed In Head-On Crash On Busy Virginia Road: Police A Virginia man was killed early Wednesday after police say he was speeding, trying to pass cars, and slammed head-on into a pickup on a Manassas roadway. Officers were called at 6:18 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 19, to Old Centreville Road and Parkland Street, where they found a 2004 Honda Accord and a 2021 Ford F-150 heavily damaged in the roadway, according to Prince William County Police. Investigators said the Honda driver, 34-year-old Manassas Park resident Diego Salazar Rodriguez, had been heading north at a high rate of speed and “attempting to pass other vehicles.”  Police said tha…

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by Zak Failla
Aldie, VA
Obituaries
Sudden Death Of Veteran Virginia Firefighter Hits Community Hard: 'It Doesn't Seem Real' Sudden Death Of Veteran Virginia Firefighter Hits Community Hard: 'It Doesn't Seem Real' Sudden Death Of Veteran Virginia Firefighter Hits Community Hard: 'It Doesn't Seem Real'
Sudden Death Of Veteran Virginia Firefighter Hits Community Hard: 'It Doesn't Seem Real' A Virginia community is mourning the sudden loss of a man who spent more than 30 years running toward emergencies to save others instead of away from them Linzie Scott “Scottie” Collins, a veteran firefighter and EMT from Cedar Bluff, died on Sunday, Nov. 16 following what his obituary described as a sudden illness.  He was 50. Collins was born in Richlands and never drifted far from the place that shaped him.  He lived in Cedar Bluff, worked at Ceramic Tech, and spent decades volunteering with both the Richlands Fire and Rescue and the Cedar Bluff Fire Department.  He was…

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by Zak Failla
Oxon Hill, MD
Your Community
PG County Student Drops Loaded Gun In School Stairwell After Bypassing Security: Police PG County Student Drops Loaded Gun In School Stairwell After Bypassing Security: Police PG County Student Drops Loaded Gun In School Stairwell After Bypassing Security: Police
PG County Student Drops Loaded Gun In School Stairwell After Bypassing Security: Police A student who pushed past security and left a loaded gun inside Charles Herbert Flowers High School is now facing charges, police in Maryland said on Wednesday. Prince George’s County Police said the incident began at approximately 8:50 a.m. on Nov. 18, when school security told the assigned school resource officer that a student had bypassed security personnel and ran up a set of stairs where he left the gun, according to the department.  The student then fled the school, which went into a lockdown. Patrol officers began canvassing the area. A short time later, officers found the tee…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Obituaries
Rufus ‘Rome’ Whitaker Remembered After Fatal I-95 Crash In Virginia: 'Always Ready With A Joke' Rufus ‘Rome’ Whitaker Remembered After Fatal I-95 Crash In Virginia: 'Always Ready With A Joke' Rufus ‘Rome’ Whitaker Remembered After Fatal I-95 Crash In Virginia: 'Always Ready With A Joke'
Rufus ‘Rome’ Whitaker Remembered After Fatal I-95 Crash In Virginia: 'Always Ready With A Joke' Rufus “Rome” Whitaker made people laugh, made people feel loved, and made sure no one around him ever felt alone. Now, the Washington, DC community is grieving the loss of a man they say was full of life and impossible to forget. Whitaker, 62, was killed shortly before 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, when the vehicle he was riding in overturned in Greensville County, according to Virginia State Police. Police reported that a 2005 Volvo XC90 was traveling south on I-95 near the 12-mile marker when it “ran off the right side of the roadway.”  The driver overcorrected, causing the vehicle t…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Obituaries
Maryland Dad, 20, Dies In Motorcycle Crash As Father Fights To Live: 'Hearts Shattered' Maryland Dad, 20, Dies In Motorcycle Crash As Father Fights To Live: 'Hearts Shattered' Maryland Dad, 20, Dies In Motorcycle Crash As Father Fights To Live: 'Hearts Shattered'
Maryland Dad, 20, Dies In Motorcycle Crash As Father Fights To Live: 'Hearts Shattered' A 20-year-old Maryland father of two is being mourned across his family and community after he was killed in a motorcycle crash this week — a loss made even heavier by the fact that his own father is reportedly in a coma at the same time. Avion Wright died on Monday, Nov. 17, at around 9 p.m., according to his sister, who said the crash shattered their family.  He leaves behind two young daughters, ages 4 and 1, a devoted mother, his father, and siblings who are reeling. His sister, Laniza Wright, wrote that she is “so lost for words” as she tries to understand how her little brother …

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by Zak Failla
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