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

Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Hagerstown Man Set High Rise Blaze After Blocking Door With Fridge, Fire Marshal Says Hagerstown Man Set High Rise Blaze After Blocking Door With Fridge, Fire Marshal Says Hagerstown Man Set High Rise Blaze After Blocking Door With Fridge, Fire Marshal Says
Hagerstown Man Set High Rise Blaze After Blocking Door With Fridge, Fire Marshal Says A Washington County firebug is behind bars after investigators say he intentionally set multiple fires inside his Potomac Towers apartment, forcing the evacuation of nearly 200 residents and injuring a firefighter. According to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, 33-year-old Stephen Jones was arrested after an investigation revealed he set several fires inside his apartment on the eighth floor of the 14-story complex on West Baltimore Street. The fire broke out just after 3:00 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26, when the Hagerstown Fire Department was dispatched for an automatic alarm at the 326…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Man On The Run After Stabbing Family, Good Samaritan Who Intervened In Derwood: Police Man On The Run After Stabbing Family, Good Samaritan Who Intervened In Derwood: Police Man On The Run After Stabbing Family, Good Samaritan Who Intervened In Derwood: Police
Man On The Run After Stabbing Family, Good Samaritan Who Intervened In Derwood: Police The search is on for a 30-year-old Maryland man wanted after allegedly stabbing family members — and a Good Samaritan who tried to help — according to police. Members of the Montgomery County Department of Police were called around 9:20 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 3, to a home on Indian Hills Court in Derwood, where there were reports of a domestic incident. Investigators say Octavio Antonio Estevez got into a dispute that turned violent and stabbed two family members during an argument at the Derwood home. When a third person tried to intervene, Estevez allegedly stabbed him as well before fleei…

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by Zak Failla
Beltsville, MD
Your Community
Beltsville Resident, Middle School Teacher Competes On Jeopardy!: Here's How It Went Beltsville Resident, Middle School Teacher Competes On Jeopardy!: Here's How It Went Beltsville Resident, Middle School Teacher Competes On Jeopardy!: Here's How It Went
Beltsville Resident, Middle School Teacher Competes On Jeopardy!: Here's How It Went The champ is here.  North Penn High School graduate and longtime Montgomery County educator Joseph Evans will be back in the bright lights after a stirring win in his first Jeopardy! appearance on Tuesday night. The Takoma Park Middle School teacher who hails from Beltsville went into Final Jeopardy! with a modest $9,000, behind Long Island stay-at-home-dad Aaron Himmel's $15,000 and ahead of defending champion Joyelle McSweeney's $3,600. Then came the final category: "Literary Characters."  Perfect for a teacher (Evans technically teaches World Studies at Takoma Park Middle School, but i…

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by Zak Failla
Glen Burnie, MD
Breaking News
Shots-Fired Call In Glen Burnie Leads To Seizure Of Ghost Gun, Meth, Coke, And Pills: Police Shots-Fired Call In Glen Burnie Leads To Seizure Of Ghost Gun, Meth, Coke, And Pills: Police Shots-Fired Call In Glen Burnie Leads To Seizure Of Ghost Gun, Meth, Coke, And Pills: Police
Shots-Fired Call In Glen Burnie Leads To Seizure Of Ghost Gun, Meth, Coke, And Pills: Police A shots-fired call at a Maryland apartment complex led to a major bust that turned up a “ghost gun,” ammo, and a stash of suspected cocaine, meth, and pills, according to police. Officers were called around 4:45 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 3, to the 7800 block of Burton Drive in Glen Burnie, where they found evidence of gunfire inside one of the apartments, according to the Anne Arundel County Police Department.  Investigators from the Northern District Detective Unit secured the scene and obtained a search warrant that uncovered a cache of drugs, ammunition, and packaging materials. Police …

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Man Accused Of Trying To Break Into Garage That Towed His Car, Stafford Sheriff Says Virginia Man Accused Of Trying To Break Into Garage That Towed His Car, Stafford Sheriff Says Virginia Man Accused Of Trying To Break Into Garage That Towed His Car, Stafford Sheriff Says
Virginia Man Accused Of Trying To Break Into Garage That Towed His Car, Stafford Sheriff Says A Virginia man didn’t take kindly to getting towed — and deputies say he came back swinging. The strange scene played out around 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, at Heflin’s Garage on Warrenton Road in Stafford, authorities say. The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said 23-year-old Jonathan Quintanilla Perla, of Richmond, tried to break into the business that had hauled his car off earlier that day. Deputies arrived to find a door with fresh pry marks, and an employee advised them the same guy had been hanging around the lot, acting sketchy, ever since the tow. Turns out, Perla didn’t just sto…

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by Zak Failla
La Plata, MD
Your Community
La Plata Teen Fighting Cancer Uses Make-A-Wish To Kickstart Dream Nursing Career La Plata Teen Fighting Cancer Uses Make-A-Wish To Kickstart Dream Nursing Career La Plata Teen Fighting Cancer Uses Make-A-Wish To Kickstart Dream Nursing Career
La Plata Teen Fighting Cancer Uses Make-a-wish To Kickstart Dream Nursing Career She’s tough, talented, and already inspiring everyone around her. Charles County native Janiah, 18, from La Plata, isn’t letting lymphoma slow her down.  The student-athlete, who loves lacrosse, soccer, track, and swimming, kept doing what she loved even through treatment — and now she’s setting her sights on something even bigger. Through Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, Janiah wished for tuition assistance to help her chase her dream of becoming a nurse.  View this post on Instagram She said she wants to help others “just as she has bee…

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by Zak Failla
Parkville-Carney, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Jazz Community Rallies Behind Tinku Bhattacharyya After Hemorrhagic Stroke Maryland Jazz Community Rallies Behind Tinku Bhattacharyya After Hemorrhagic Stroke Maryland Jazz Community Rallies Behind Tinku Bhattacharyya After Hemorrhagic Stroke
Maryland Jazz Community Rallies Behind Tinku Bhattacharyya After Hemorrhagic Stroke When Tinku Bhattacharyya suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on the night of Sunday, Oct. 12, everything changed in an instant for her and her husband, jazz pianist and professor Marc Cary. According to Cary’s stepson, Ahmad Cary, emergency crews rushed Bhattacharyya to the hospital just before 10:15 p.m., where doctors performed an operation to open her skull and remove blood from the hemorrhage to relieve pressure on her brain. “She spent the following 11 days in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit before being moved to the Intermediate Care Unit where she is currently being stabilized and prepped fo…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Driver Found Walking After Car Split In Half In Fiery I-270 Montgomery County Crash: Officials Driver Found Walking After Car Split In Half In Fiery I-270 Montgomery County Crash: Officials Driver Found Walking After Car Split In Half In Fiery I-270 Montgomery County Crash: Officials
Driver Found Walking After Car Split In Half In Fiery I-270 Montgomery County Crash: Officials A driver in Montgomery County somehow walked away after a crash that literally split their car in half overnight, officials said. It happened around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, on northbound I-270 near Exit 10, when a car left the roadway and tore through the woods, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer. When first responders arrived, they found the mangled wreckage — the vehicle sheared into two pieces and scattered among trees — but no one inside. The car was nearly split in half in Montgomery County. Twitter/@mcfrsPIO Montgomery County Fire a…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Fiery I-95 Crash In Spotsylvania Kills Two After Pickup Slams Into Tractor-Trailer: VSP Fiery I-95 Crash In Spotsylvania Kills Two After Pickup Slams Into Tractor-Trailer: VSP Fiery I-95 Crash In Spotsylvania Kills Two After Pickup Slams Into Tractor-Trailer: VSP
Fiery I-95 Crash In Spotsylvania Kills Two After Pickup Slams Into Tractor-Trailer: VSP Two people were killed in a crash early on Wednesday morning on I-95 in Northern Virginia, state police confirmed. Troopers were called shortly after 1 a.m. on Nov. 5 to a stretch of the southbound lanes of the interstate near the 126-mile marker in Spotsylvania, officials said. According to investigators, a 2013 Dodge Ram pulling a utility trailer went off the right side of the roadway, where it struck a tractor-trailer that was stopped on the shoulder. The impact caused the Dodge to catch fire. Police say that the two occupants of the Ram were pronounced dead at the scene by first respo…

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
What Texting Scandal? Democrat Jay Jones Projected To Win VA Attorney General Race What Texting Scandal? Democrat Jay Jones Projected To Win VA Attorney General Race What Texting Scandal? Democrat Jay Jones Projected To Win VA Attorney General Race
What Texting Scandal? Democrat Jay Jones Projected To Win VA Attorney General Race Despite running a scandalous campaign, Democrat Jay Jones is projected to top incumbent Republican Jason Miyares in what has been a contentious attorney general's race in Virginia.  With 105 of 133 localities reporting as of 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4 Jones was holding a narrow lead, with 51.75 percent of the vote versus Miyares' 47.83 percent, with more results coming in.  Decision Desk HQ called the race for Jones as of 8:26 p.m. on Tuesday night. Decision Desk HQ projects Jay Jones to win the Virginia Attorney General election.#DecisionMade: 8:26 pm ETFollow live results on …

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by Zak Failla
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