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
WATCH: Massive 2-Alarm Fire Tears Through DC Apartments, Leaving 44 Without Homes WATCH: Massive 2-Alarm Fire Tears Through DC Apartments, Leaving 44 Without Homes
Watch: Massive 2-Alarm Fire Tears Through DC Apartments, Leaving 44 Without Homes A wall of flames. Thick black smoke. Then an all-out fight to keep an entire apartment building from going up. More than 150 firefighters battled a massive two-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon in Southeast DC after fire tore through the roof of an occupied apartment building, forcing dozens of residents, including 16 children, from their homes. The fire broke out around 2:18 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at an apartment building in the 5300 block of E Street SE, where crews quickly found flames racing through the upper floors and roof. Update: 2 Alarm Fire 5300 Block of E Street SE2nd alarm was ca…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Obituaries
'You Always Had A Smile': Loved Ones Remember Jesse Fultz Sr. After Maryland Motorcycle Crash 'You Always Had A Smile': Loved Ones Remember Jesse Fultz Sr. After Maryland Motorcycle Crash
'You Always Had A Smile': Loved Ones Remember Jesse Fultz Sr. After Maryland Motorcycle Crash The streets will glow with candlelight this week, but they won't be able to fill the space Jesse Fultz Sr. leaves behind. Maryland is mourning the sudden loss of the devoted husband, father, brother and friend after the Jefferson family man was killed in a motorcycle crash, leaving behind his wife, Becky, and their two young sons, Junior and Tucker. As loved ones struggle to process the tragedy, one message has echoed across social media again and again: Jesse made people feel like family. "To have you stripped away from us within the blink of an eye hurts different because we all thought …

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Your Community
'Mr. Money Bags' Wins $1M Maryland Lottery Prize On Last Ticket In Machine 'Mr. Money Bags' Wins $1M Maryland Lottery Prize On Last Ticket In Machine
'Mr. Money Bags' Wins $1M Maryland Lottery Prize On Last Ticket In Machine Talk about leaving nothing behind. A Maryland mechanic became an instant millionaire after buying the very last scratch-off ticket left in a vending machine, turning a split-second decision into a $1 million payday. The Cecil County man, who now jokingly goes by "Mr. Money Bags," wasn't even planning to buy that particular ticket. He had just picked up his children from the babysitter and stopped at the Royal Farms on Perryville Road in Perryville when something caught his eye. The customer in front of him had been loading up on Triple Red 777s scratch-offs. By the time it was his turn, …

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
140 Guns Hidden In Air Compressors: Ex-Haitian Police Officer Pleads Guilty In DC 140 Guns Hidden In Air Compressors: Ex-Haitian Police Officer Pleads Guilty In DC
140 Guns Hidden In Air Compressors: Ex-Haitian Police Officer Pleads Guilty In DC They weren't shipping air compressors. They were shipping an arsenal. A years-long gun trafficking scheme unraveled in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, when a former Haitian National Police officer admitted smuggling at least 140 firearms from South Florida to Haiti by hiding them inside industrial air compressors packed with foam insulation, federal prosecutors announced. Jean Robert Casimir, 53, of Lauderhill, FL, pleaded guilty in US District Court in DC to conspiracy, smuggling, and violating US export control laws for orchestrating the operation, according to the US Attorney's Offic…

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by Zak Failla
Elkton, MD
Your Community
Maryland Issues Measles Alert After Possible Exposure At Elkton ER Maryland Issues Measles Alert After Possible Exposure At Elkton ER
Maryland Issues Measles Alert After Possible Exposure At Elkton ER A new Maryland measles case has prompted a public health alert after officials said people may have been exposed inside a hospital emergency department on the Eastern Shore. The Maryland Department of Health announced Tuesday, Aug. 4, that a Maryland resident tested positive for measles after potentially exposing others at the ChristianaCare Union Hospital Emergency Department in Elkton. Anyone who was inside the emergency department at 106 Bow St. between 7 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2, may have been exposed, health officials said. State health officials are conducting contact tr…

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by Zak Failla
Germantown, MD
Your Community
Kids In Stolen Kia Linked To Deadly Crash At Germantown Intersection, Police Say (UPDATED) Kids In Stolen Kia Linked To Deadly Crash At Germantown Intersection, Police Say (UPDATED)
Kids In Stolen Kia Linked To Deadly Crash At Germantown Intersection, Police Say (Updated) A stolen car. Four children inside. One innocent driver never made it home. Maryland investigators say the violent Germantown crash that triggered a mass casualty response Tuesday morning began with a stolen Kia carrying juveniles as young as 12 before it slammed into another vehicle at one of Montgomery County's busiest intersections. The crash happened around 5:25 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at Great Seneca Highway and Clopper Road, where Montgomery County police and fire crews found a white Kia Optima and a blue Toyota Matrix with catastrophic damage. The crash in Montgomery County. T…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
'He Helped Keep The Port Moving': Baltimore Mourns Longtime Longshoreman David Deon Smith 'He Helped Keep The Port Moving': Baltimore Mourns Longtime Longshoreman David Deon Smith
'He Helped Keep The Port Moving': Baltimore Mourns Longtime Longshoreman David Deon Smith One ordinary workday became the kind of Monday no family ever imagines. A Maryland community is mourning the loss of David "Deon" Smith, a longtime International Longshoremen's Association Local 333 member who was killed in a tragic workplace accident Monday morning, Aug. 3, at the Port of Baltimore's Dundalk Marine Terminal. Maryland Transportation Authority Police said officers responded shortly after 9 a.m. for reports of an injured worker.  Smith, 53, was struck by a crane boom during cargo-handling operations, according to authorities. First responders attempted life-saving measu…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
Dump Truck Rolls Onto Side, Shuts Down Busy Virginia Intersection Before Rush Hour (PHOTOS) Dump Truck Rolls Onto Side, Shuts Down Busy Virginia Intersection Before Rush Hour (PHOTOS)
Dump Truck Rolls Onto Side, Shuts Down Busy Virginia Intersection Before Rush Hour (Photos) A morning commute came to a grinding halt when a dump truck rolled onto its side at a busy Virginia intersection, spilling its load across the roadway. The crash happened around 7:50 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3, at the intersection of James Madison Highway and Remington Road in Culpeper County, where emergency crews found an overturned dump truck and a passenger vehicle involved in the collision. Photos from the scene show the bright yellow truck lying on its side with its load dumped onto the shoulder, while deputies, firefighters and rescue crews worked around the wreckage. The dump truck…

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by Zak Failla
Fort Washington, MD
Breaking News
Fort Washington Man, Veteran Park Police Officer Identified In Fatal Maryland Shooting: AG Fort Washington Man, Veteran Park Police Officer Identified In Fatal Maryland Shooting: AG
Fort Washington Man, Veteran Park Police Officer Identified In Fatal Maryland Shooting: AG Questions remain. But now, the names are public. A Maryland man killed during a police shooting at Fort Washington Park last week has been identified as 30-year-old Alex Charles, while the officer who fired the fatal shots has also been publicly named as the state's investigation continues. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General announced Tuesday, Aug. 4, that Charles, of Fort Washington, died in the July 31 encounter with Maryland-National Capital Park Police in Prince George's County. The officer involved was identified as Cpl. Anthony Delozier, a 15-year veteran of the Maryland-Nat…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Maryland Gang Member Convicted After Innocent Man Mistaken For Rival In Deadly DC Hit: DOJ Maryland Gang Member Convicted After Innocent Man Mistaken For Rival In Deadly DC Hit: DOJ
Maryland Gang Member Convicted After Innocent Man Mistaken For Rival In Deadly DC Hit: DOJ One wrong walk home turned into a death sentence. A Maryland man was among four members of a violent Southeast Washington street crew convicted Monday, Aug. 3, for running an armed drug operation that used machine guns to defend territory and ultimately gunned down an innocent bystander, federal prosecutors said. Markquette Rajon Cowan, 27, of Maryland, was found guilty alongside Washington, DC residents Christopher Jordan Broady, 26; Joshua Nicholas Stephenson, 25; and Larry Duncan, 35, following a four-week trial in US District Court. Prosecutors said the men belonged to the "Push Dat Sh…

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by Zak Failla
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