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

Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Barn Goes Up In Flames While Horses Are Away At County Fair Maryland Barn Goes Up In Flames While Horses Are Away At County Fair Maryland Barn Goes Up In Flames While Horses Are Away At County Fair
Maryland Barn Goes Up In Flames While Horses Are Away At County Fair There wasn’t much left standing when daylight finally reached a Maryland horse farm Tuesday morning. The two-alarm fire broke out at approximately 3:05 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11, at Sunny Days Farm on Wrights Neck Road in Centreville, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal and Goodwill Fire Company. By the time the first crews arrived, the roughly 120-foot-by-60-foot pole building was fully involved, with flames threatening a nearby horse stable. That prompted firefighters to call for a tanker task force and a second alarm as crews worked to keep the fire from spreading. They did. O…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
OIG Details Mold, Mushrooms, Pests Inside Baltimore Shelters: ‘Critical’ And ‘Horrific’ OIG Details Mold, Mushrooms, Pests Inside Baltimore Shelters: ‘Critical’ And ‘Horrific’ OIG Details Mold, Mushrooms, Pests Inside Baltimore Shelters: ‘Critical’ And ‘Horrific’
OIG Details Mold, Mushrooms, Pests Inside Baltimore Shelters: ‘Critical’ And ‘Horrific’ Mushrooms growing in rooms. Mold in the air. Bed bugs. Dark water backing up into a bathtub. Those were among the conditions reported or documented inside Maryland homeless shelters in a Baltimore City Office of Inspector General investigation released on Wednesday, Aug. 12.  Former Mayor's Office of Homeless Services employees had two words for what they said they witnessed: “critical” and “horrific.” And some of the complaints were backed up. The investigation began after the OIG received a complaint in July 2025 about conditions at three Baltimore shelters operating out of former …

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by Zak Failla
Middle River, MD
Breaking News
Teen Linked To Roman Wright's Murder Arrested After Middle River Barricade: Police Teen Linked To Roman Wright's Murder Arrested After Middle River Barricade: Police Teen Linked To Roman Wright's Murder Arrested After Middle River Barricade: Police
Teen Linked To Roman Wright's Murder Arrested After Middle River Barricade: Police A Maryland murder investigation ended with a short-lived barricade. The second of two juvenile suspects linked to the killing of 17-year-old Roman Wright was taken into custody Tuesday evening, Aug. 11, following a barricade in the 100 block of Akin Circle in Middle River, Baltimore County Police said. The barricade brought an end to a search that began after Wright was fatally shot less than two days earlier in nearby Essex. At approximately 11:50 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 10, officers were called to the unit block of Bladen Road for reports of an assault in progress, police said. When office…

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by Zak Failla
Capitol Heights-District Heights, MD
Your Community
Snakes, Guns Found In Capitol Heights Apartment: Police Snakes, Guns Found In Capitol Heights Apartment: Police Snakes, Guns Found In Capitol Heights Apartment: Police
Snakes, Guns Found In Capitol Heights Apartment: Police Talk about a slippery operation. More than 60 reptiles were stolen from pet stores across Maryland and Virginia before being sold on social media, according to police, who say a months-long investigation finally led them to a Capitol Heights apartment packed with snakes, lizards and guns. The alleged reptile crime spree ran from March through May, targeting stores on both sides of the Potomac, according to the Prince George’s County and Fairfax County police departments on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Investigators say 31-year-old Capitol Heights resident DeSean Bagley was part of the crew behind t…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Your Community
Kenny G Hits The Right Notes Twice For $100K Maryland Lottery Win Kenny G Hits The Right Notes Twice For $100K Maryland Lottery Win Kenny G Hits The Right Notes Twice For $100K Maryland Lottery Win
Kenny G Hits The Right Notes Twice For $100K Maryland Lottery Win Kenny G's latest Maryland encore came with a six-figure payday. The Salisbury man doubled down on the same five numbers last month, buying two separate Pick 5 tickets with the identical combination before watching both bets hit straight for a $100,000 payday, according to the Maryland Lottery. On July 24, Kenny G stopped at Salisbury Quick Stop in the 2500 block of North Salisbury Boulevard, one of his usual Lottery spots, and played 32821 on two separate straight Pick 5 bets. Later that night, he was home checking the Maryland Lottery app when those five numbers popped up in exactly the r…

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by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Your Community
Leave Their Families Alone: Harford Sheriff Speaks Out After Chris Hansen Maryland Sting Leave Their Families Alone: Harford Sheriff Speaks Out After Chris Hansen Maryland Sting Leave Their Families Alone: Harford Sheriff Speaks Out After Chris Hansen Maryland Sting
Leave Their Families Alone: Harford Sheriff Speaks Out After Chris Hansen Maryland Sting The suspects are facing the allegations. Their families aren't. One day after details emerged from a third Chris Hansen “Takedown” operation in Maryland, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler issued a pointed message on Tuesday, Aug. 11, urging an angry public not to turn its attention toward the innocent relatives and friends of those accused. The warning comes as the sheriff's office wraps up its latest covert operation with Hansen targeting adults allegedly attempting to exploit children online. The arrests understandably sparked outrage. But Gahler said that anger needs to stop with t…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Living Large In Virginia: Fairfax Man Blew Millions Stolen From Employer, Feds Say Living Large In Virginia: Fairfax Man Blew Millions Stolen From Employer, Feds Say Living Large In Virginia: Fairfax Man Blew Millions Stolen From Employer, Feds Say
Living Large In Virginia: Fairfax Man Blew Millions Stolen From Employer, Feds Say Ricardo Fontanilla was making about $83,000 a year in Virginia. He was spending like he had hit the jackpot. Luxury brands. Premium flights through the Caribbean and Asia. Millions in credit card bills. Hundreds of thousands toward mortgages, loans and investments. The problem, federal prosecutors say, was that the money wasn't his. Fontanilla, 66, of Fairfax, has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud after investigators say he spent years secretly funneling more than $7.1 million from his employer into a personal bank account, according to federal investigators on Tuesday, Aug. 11. And F…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
On Your Side
Mystery Diesel Spill Turns Alexandria Waterway Rust-Red As Hazmat Crews Rush In (DEVELOPING) Mystery Diesel Spill Turns Alexandria Waterway Rust-Red As Hazmat Crews Rush In (DEVELOPING) Mystery Diesel Spill Turns Alexandria Waterway Rust-Red As Hazmat Crews Rush In (DEVELOPING)
Mystery Diesel Spill Turns Alexandria Waterway Rust-Red As Hazmat Crews Rush In (Developing) Something was clearly wrong with the water in Alexandria Tuesday evening. Hazmat crews were called to the area of Holland Lane and Jamieson Avenue on Tuesday, Aug. 11, after a reported diesel spill and petroleum odor prompted an emergency response, according to Alexandria Fire-EMS. The scene was hard to miss. A photo released by the department shows portions of the water near the spill stained a striking rust-red as crews worked to contain the material and figure out where it came from. That part remains a mystery. Fire officials said the spill was reported as diesel and a petroleum odor…

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by Zak Failla
Pasadena-Lake Shore, MD
Breaking News
A Bat Turned Up On A Pasadena Street, Then The Rabies Test Results Came Back A Bat Turned Up On A Pasadena Street, Then The Rabies Test Results Came Back A Bat Turned Up On A Pasadena Street, Then The Rabies Test Results Came Back
A Bat Turned Up On A Pasadena Street, Then The Rabies Test Results Came Back A close encounter with a bat could come with serious consequences in Maryland. Health officials issued a rabies alert on Tuesday, Aug. 11 after a bat found two days earlier tested positive for the deadly disease in Pasadena, according to the Anne Arundel County Department of Health. The bat was found outside on Almondbury Drive on Sunday, Aug. 9, prompting officials to seek anyone who may have come into contact with the infected animal. Residents who had contact with the bat, or whose pets may have encountered it, are being asked to contact the Department of Health. Parents and guardians …

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Teen Helped Plan Robbery That Ended With Him Dead, 4 More Arrested In Woodbridge: Police Teen Helped Plan Robbery That Ended With Him Dead, 4 More Arrested In Woodbridge: Police Teen Helped Plan Robbery That Ended With Him Dead, 4 More Arrested In Woodbridge: Police
Teen Helped Plan Robbery That Ended With Him Dead, 4 More Arrested In Woodbridge: Police The 16-year-old killed in a Virginia shooting wasn't just caught in the middle of a deadly confrontation; police now say he helped arrange it. Prince William County Police announced four additional arrests on Tuesday, Aug. 11, while revealing that the teen and two acquaintances allegedly arranged to confront and rob Damon Jamon Atwater, 25, before shots rang out in the 16700 block of Blackjack Oak Lane in Woodbridge on July 5. The alleged robbery never happened. Instead, the 16-year-old wound up dead. Investigators say the teen from Triangle went to the area with Janaiya Lolita Talley…

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by Zak Failla
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