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

Arlington, VA
Breaking News
More Than 1,300 Arrests Later, ICE's Sweeping Operation In DMV Isn't Over: HSI More Than 1,300 Arrests Later, ICE's Sweeping Operation In DMV Isn't Over: HSI More Than 1,300 Arrests Later, ICE's Sweeping Operation In DMV Isn't Over: HSI
More Than 1,300 Arrests Later, ICE's Sweeping Operation In DMV Isn't Over: HSI US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 1,300 undocumented immigrants in the nation's capital since launching "Operation Safe Community" earlier this month, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The operation was launched as part of the Trump administration's broader federal law enforcement surge in DC, which has put immigration enforcement at the center of an already contentious crackdown in the District. According to DHS, ICE officers have targeted people living in the country illegally, including some with criminal convictions or pending charges. Federa…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Driver Flees ICE At 75+ MPH Before Crashing Into Maryland Motorist In Front Of Sheriff Driver Flees ICE At 75+ MPH Before Crashing Into Maryland Motorist In Front Of Sheriff Driver Flees ICE At 75+ MPH Before Crashing Into Maryland Motorist In Front Of Sheriff
Driver Flees ICE At 75+ MPH Before Crashing Into Maryland Motorist In Front Of Sheriff The driver wasn't slowing down. A man being pursued by federal agents tore through Maryland at more than 75 mph before blowing a red light and crashing into an unsuspecting motorist on Friday, Aug. 21, according to the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office. And Sheriff Gary Hofmann watched it happen. Hofmann was on routine patrol in Stevensville when he spotted the vehicle exiting westbound Route 50, recklessly cutting across multiple lanes of traffic before taking the ramp onto northbound Route 8 at speeds exceeding 75 mph. The driver kept going. As the vehicle approached Route 8 and Ski…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Former Serviceman Who Preyed On Maryland Girl Through Snapchat Learns His Prison Fate Former Serviceman Who Preyed On Maryland Girl Through Snapchat Learns His Prison Fate Former Serviceman Who Preyed On Maryland Girl Through Snapchat Learns His Prison Fate
Former Serviceman Who Preyed On Maryland Girl Through Snapchat Learns His Prison Fate Daniel Lara-Salazar was stationed thousands of miles away. That didn't stop him from reaching a young girl in Maryland. What started on Snapchat in June 2024 turned predatory, with Lara-Salazar demanding sexually explicit images and videos from the girl while he was serving in the US military, according to federal prosecutors. Now, the 33-year-old former serviceman is going to federal prison. US District Judge Matthew Maddox sentenced Lara-Salazar on Monday, Aug. 24, to 15½ years behind bars for sexually exploiting a child.  Once he gets out, he will remain under federal supervision…

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by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Your Community
Rabid Groundhog Found In Harford County, Officials Warn People, Pets May Have Been Exposed Rabid Groundhog Found In Harford County, Officials Warn People, Pets May Have Been Exposed Rabid Groundhog Found In Harford County, Officials Warn People, Pets May Have Been Exposed
Rabid Groundhog Found In Harford County, Officials Warn People, Pets May Have Been Exposed A run-in with the wrong groundhog could mean more than a torn-up garden in Maryland. Harford County health officials issued a rabies exposure alert on Monday, Aug. 24 after a groundhog found near the 3800 block of Old Federal Hill Road in Jarrettsville tested positive for the virus. The Maryland Department of Health confirmed the positive test Monday, according to the Harford County Health Department. Now officials are trying to determine whether anyone else, or their pets, may have crossed paths with the infected animal. Health officials stressed that simply spotting a groundhog isn't ca…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
First Day Of School Lasts 5 Minutes Before Fights Break Out At North Point High School: Sheriff First Day Of School Lasts 5 Minutes Before Fights Break Out At North Point High School: Sheriff First Day Of School Lasts 5 Minutes Before Fights Break Out At North Point High School: Sheriff
First Day Of School Lasts 5 Minutes Before Fights Break Out At North Point High School: Sheriff The first bell had barely rung before things went sideways at a Maryland high school. Just five minutes into the first day of classes on Monday, Aug. 24, multiple fights broke out inside North Point High School in Waldorf, leaving four students facing charges, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office. School administrators and resource officers were called to the first altercation at approximately 8:10 a.m., shortly after North Point's 8:05 a.m. school day began. Investigators say a 16-year-old student punched another student from behind, sending the teen to the floor. That appare…

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by Zak Failla
Upper Marlboro, MD
Breaking News
Stop Sticks Didn't Stop This Wrong-Way Upper Marlboro Driver, Then Things Got Worse: Sheriff Stop Sticks Didn't Stop This Wrong-Way Upper Marlboro Driver, Then Things Got Worse: Sheriff Stop Sticks Didn't Stop This Wrong-Way Upper Marlboro Driver, Then Things Got Worse: Sheriff
Stop Sticks Didn't Stop This Wrong-Way Upper Marlboro Driver, Then Things Got Worse: Sheriff Kenneth David Roach did not go down quietly. The 59-year-old Upper Marlboro man put deputies from the Calvert County Sheriff's Office through their paces after refusing to stop and striking a cruiser in the process. Deputies responded to a complaint involving a Lexus that was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of Southern Maryland Boulevard in Owings. Deputies quickly located Roach's vehicle in the area of Route 4 and Town Center Boulevard, where they attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Roach was having none of that. It is alleged that Roach sped away and continued driving reckl…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Days After She Was Last Seen, Search For Arlington Teen Maryam Al-Hadj Takes Urgent Turn Days After She Was Last Seen, Search For Arlington Teen Maryam Al-Hadj Takes Urgent Turn Days After She Was Last Seen, Search For Arlington Teen Maryam Al-Hadj Takes Urgent Turn
Days After She Was Last Seen, Search For Arlington Teen Maryam Al-Hadj Takes Urgent Turn The search for a missing Virginia teenager has taken on new urgency. Virginia State Police issued a CODI Alert at 4:45 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, for 15-year-old Maryam M. Al-Hadj, who was last seen three days earlier in Arlington. Maryam was last seen at approximately noon on Friday, Aug. 21, in the 1400 block of 28th Street South, according to the Arlington County Police Department. Now, police are asking the public to help bring her home. Arlington police have classified Maryam as critically missing due to mental and/or physical health concerns. Virginia State Police went a step further…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Woman Escapes Attacker In Woods, Sparking Manassas Manhunt For Alleged Rapist: Police Woman Escapes Attacker In Woods, Sparking Manassas Manhunt For Alleged Rapist: Police Woman Escapes Attacker In Woods, Sparking Manassas Manhunt For Alleged Rapist: Police
Woman Escapes Attacker In Woods, Sparking Manassas Manhunt For Alleged Rapist: Police A woman escaped from a wooded area in Virginia. Now police are hunting for the man accused of attacking her. Prince William County police are searching for Curtis Lucas Brown Jr., 45, after a 39-year-old woman reported being sexually assaulted late Wednesday, Aug. 19, near the 8300 block of Sudley Road in Manassas. Officers were called to the area at approximately 10:56 p.m. that night, where investigators learned that the woman had been sexually assaulted in a wooded area nearby, according to police. Investigators said Brown was an acquaintance of the woman. At some point during the alle…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Measles Outbreak Declared In Three Maryland Counties After 14 New Cases Confirmed Measles Outbreak Declared In Three Maryland Counties After 14 New Cases Confirmed Measles Outbreak Declared In Three Maryland Counties After 14 New Cases Confirmed
Measles Outbreak Declared In Three Maryland Counties After 14 New Cases Confirmed Maryland's measles numbers are moving in the wrong direction. State health officials declared an outbreak on Monday, Aug. 24, after confirming 14 new cases among unvaccinated residents in St. Mary's, Carroll and Cecil counties, bringing the statewide total to 31 this year. The good news: Officials have identified no public exposure connected to the new cases and say there is currently no evidence of widespread community transmission. Most of the cases have been among people living in the same households, according to the Maryland Department of Health. Still, the recent spike has been shar…

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by Zak Failla
Kensington, MD
Breaking News
Kensington Man Killed Friend With Illegal Rifle, Then Called 911 On Himself, Prosecutors Say Kensington Man Killed Friend With Illegal Rifle, Then Called 911 On Himself, Prosecutors Say Kensington Man Killed Friend With Illegal Rifle, Then Called 911 On Himself, Prosecutors Say
Kensington Man Killed Friend With Illegal Rifle, Then Called 911 On Himself, Prosecutors Say The Maryland man who called 911 on himself after killing his friend will face decades in prison. Benjamin Dresbach, 23, was found guilty in connection with the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Trevor Van Devander in January 2025, according to the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office on Monday, Aug. 24. On Jan. 13, 2025, prosecutors say police were called to the 3900 block of Franklin Street in Kensington when Dresbach called 911 to report that he had shot his friend inside. Police searching the home. Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office Upon arrival, first resp…

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by Zak Failla
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