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

Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Frederick Chief Jason Lando Heading Home To Lead Pittsburgh Police: 'Where I Was Born, Raised' Frederick Chief Jason Lando Heading Home To Lead Pittsburgh Police: 'Where I Was Born, Raised' Frederick Chief Jason Lando Heading Home To Lead Pittsburgh Police: 'Where I Was Born, Raised'
Frederick Chief Jason Lando Heading Home To Lead Pittsburgh Police: 'Where I Was Born, Raised' A familiar face is heading back to a familiar place. Frederick Police Chief Jason Lando is leaving Maryland and returning to the city where he spent most of his career after being selected to lead the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. Lando, who joined the Frederick Police Department in 2021, spent more than two decades with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police before taking over Frederick’s significantly smaller force five years ago. The City of Frederick announced that his last day will be Friday, Dec. 5. Mayor Michael O’Connor said Lando “has been a transformational leader for Frederick,” noting…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Obituaries
Virginia Boy, 11, Saves Lives Through Organ Donation After Sudden Death: ‘Generous Soul’ Virginia Boy, 11, Saves Lives Through Organ Donation After Sudden Death: ‘Generous Soul’ Virginia Boy, 11, Saves Lives Through Organ Donation After Sudden Death: ‘Generous Soul’
Virginia Boy, 11, Saves Lives Through Organ Donation After Sudden Death: ‘Generous Soul’ A Spotsylvania family is honoring the extraordinary kindness of 11-year-old Cayden Warren, whose "generous soul" is now guiding their final decisions after his sudden medical emergency. According to his family, Warren suffered a sudden cardiac arrest on the evening of Friday, Nov. 7.  He was stabilized at Mary Washington Hospital and flown to VCU, where doctors determined he had no brain activity after a prolonged period without sufficient oxygen. Loved ones describe Warren as "artistic, energetic, and deeply compassionate."  In the GoFundMe organized by Grace Frye, she wrote th…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Human Trafficking Probe Leads To Two Arrests, Recovery Of Missing Girls: State Police Maryland Human Trafficking Probe Leads To Two Arrests, Recovery Of Missing Girls: State Police Maryland Human Trafficking Probe Leads To Two Arrests, Recovery Of Missing Girls: State Police
Maryland Human Trafficking Probe Leads To Two Arrests, Recovery Of Missing Girls: State Police A multi-agency human trafficking investigation has led to the rescue of two missing juvenile girls and the arrests of two men accused of exploiting them, according to Maryland State Police. Troopers announced Thursday, Nov. 13, that Deion Taurence Philip, 32, of New York, and Antoine Miles, 57, of Maryland, have both been charged with sex trafficking of a minor and several related offenses. Police said Philip is being held without bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center. Miles is in custody in Minnesota and awaiting extradition back to Maryland. According to investigators, the case b…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Trail Runner, Dog Lover Haley Zullo Takes On Rare Disease With Community Behind Her Maryland Trail Runner, Dog Lover Haley Zullo Takes On Rare Disease With Community Behind Her Maryland Trail Runner, Dog Lover Haley Zullo Takes On Rare Disease With Community Behind Her
Maryland Trail Runner, Dog Lover Haley Zullo Takes On Rare Disease With Community Behind Her A healthy, active Maryland woman known for running trails, rescuing dogs, and working a demanding construction job is now fighting a rare disease that changed her life in an instant, leaving loved ones pleading for help as she faces a long road ahead. Haley Zullo was diagnosed in September with Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis, an autoimmune disease that affects 1 to 2 people per million in the United States, according to loved ones. The organizers of a GoFundMe set up for Zullo wrote that “her immune system is failing her and it will continue to do so for the rest of her life.” The diagno…

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by Zak Failla
Linganore-New Market, MD
Breaking News
Florida Man Accused Of Killing Ex-Wife, Her BF In New Market Shooting During Dispute: Feds Florida Man Accused Of Killing Ex-Wife, Her BF In New Market Shooting During Dispute: Feds Florida Man Accused Of Killing Ex-Wife, Her BF In New Market Shooting During Dispute: Feds
Florida Man Accused Of Killing Ex-Wife, Her BF In New Market Shooting During Dispute: Feds A Miami man who traveled to Maryland and killed his ex-wife and her current boyfriend during a domestic dispute has been indicted, federal authorities announced. David Turner, 35, is facing serious charges in connection with the double murder of his former spouse, Crimea Baker, and Arlington native Sean Lange in New Market last year. Turner was arrested in September 2024 in Frederick County. According to investigators, Baker was a mother of four, and Turner was the father of one of the children. The arrest was made late in the afternoon on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, by members of the FBI a…

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Breaking News
CommunityRallies Around UnWined On The Water Staff After Devastating $1M Elkton Waterfront Fire CommunityRallies Around UnWined On The Water Staff After Devastating $1M Elkton Waterfront Fire CommunityRallies Around UnWined On The Water Staff After Devastating $1M Elkton Waterfront Fire
CommunityRallies Around UnWined On The Water Staff After Devastating $1M Elkton Waterfront Fire A beloved Maryland waterfront restaurant may be gone, but the community it built is showing it’s nowhere near finished. UnWined on the Water — a local staple at Triton Marina in Cecil County known for its views, live music, and tight-knit staff — was destroyed in a fast-moving early-morning fire on Thursday, Nov. 6.  Now, as the owners and employees face a total loss, neighbors, musicians, customers, and businesses across Maryland are stepping up to help the people who made the place feel like home. According to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, the fire broke out just before 1:40 …

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
On Your Side
$1M Powerball Ticket Sold In Virginia Still Unclaimed As Jackpot Soars To $546M $1M Powerball Ticket Sold In Virginia Still Unclaimed As Jackpot Soars To $546M $1M Powerball Ticket Sold In Virginia Still Unclaimed As Jackpot Soars To $546M
$1M Powerball Ticket Sold In Virginia Still Unclaimed As Jackpot Soars To $546M Someone in Virginia is sitting on a million-dollar winning Powerball ticket, and they may not even know it yet. According to the Virginia Lottery, the lucky ticket for the Wednesday, Nov. 12, drawing was sold at the 7-Eleven at 4625 Cleburne Blvd. in Dublin.  Lottery officials said the ticket matched the first five numbers — 29-39-43-51-65 — and missed only the Powerball number, 23. It was the only ticket in Virginia to hit the first five numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, and one of just two nationwide, officials said. Whoever bought it now has 180 days from the drawing date to c…

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man Hit Pedestrian, Drove Off, Returned, Then Fled Again In Fatal Crash: Prosecutors Maryland Man Hit Pedestrian, Drove Off, Returned, Then Fled Again In Fatal Crash: Prosecutors Maryland Man Hit Pedestrian, Drove Off, Returned, Then Fled Again In Fatal Crash: Prosecutors
Maryland Man Hit Pedestrian, Drove Off, Returned, Then Fled Again In Fatal Crash: Prosecutors A Maryland man who hit a pedestrian, drove off, came back to ask what happened, and then took off again has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to Cecil County prosecutors. Joseph Anthony Giles Jr., of North East, learned his fate on Friday, Nov. 7, after a judge found him guilty of grossly negligent manslaughter, criminally negligent manslaughter, and more than a dozen traffic charges tied to the deadly hit-and-run. Prosecutors said the crash happened in the early-morning hours of March 24, 2024, on Jacob Tome Highway in Colora. The pedestrian, Raymond Albert Cote Jr., was wal…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Shoebox Puppies Reunited With Their Mom After Abandonment Along Virginia Trail Shoebox Puppies Reunited With Their Mom After Abandonment Along Virginia Trail Shoebox Puppies Reunited With Their Mom After Abandonment Along Virginia Trail
Shoebox Puppies Reunited With Their Mom After Abandonment Along Virginia Trail It’s the update everyone was hoping for. Six newborn puppies found stuffed inside a taped Nike shoebox along a walking trail in Bealeton have been reunited with their mother, the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office announced. The sheriff’s office shared the update days after the pups were found on Saturday, Nov. 8, inside a yellow-taped shoebox lined with a towel and punctured with air holes.  The puppies found in Fauquier County. Fauquier County Sheriff The box had been left near the railroad tracks along the path, officials said. The puppies found in Fauquier County…

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by Zak Failla
Aberdeen, MD
Breaking News
Box Truck Driver Who Mowed Down Harford County Deputy During I-95 Chaos Indicted: Prosecutors Box Truck Driver Who Mowed Down Harford County Deputy During I-95 Chaos Indicted: Prosecutors Box Truck Driver Who Mowed Down Harford County Deputy During I-95 Chaos Indicted: Prosecutors
Box Truck Driver Who Mowed Down Harford County Deputy During I-95 Chaos Indicted: Prosecutors A 21-year-old man who was arrested in New York a day after seriously injuring a veteran sheriff's deputy in Maryland during a wild chase has been brought back to the state to face charges, authorities announced. Yonkers resident Juan Yahir Quiroz Manzueta has been identified and arrested as the driver of a Penske box truck that struck and critically injured Lt. Rob Burgess, a 29-year member of the Harford County Sheriff's Office assigned to the Community Policing Division on Tuesday afternoon. According to the Harford County State's Attorney's Office, Quiroz Manzueta was extradite…

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by Zak Failla
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