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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

Police & Fire
$750K Chevy Chase House Fire Leaves Home Gutted After Flames Race Through While Family Slept $750K Chevy Chase House Fire Leaves Home Gutted After Flames Race Through While Family Slept
$750K Chevy Chase House Fire Leaves Home Gutted After Flames Race Through While Family Slept Three residents were asleep inside a Maryland home when a fire began climbing from a rear deck into the upper floors of the house late Tuesday night. They got out before anyone was hurt. The blaze broke out at a home in the 4600 block of Drummond Avenue in Chevy Chase, where Montgomery County firefighters arrived to find flames tearing through the rear deck and exterior siding of the two-story residence. By that point, the fire had already spread upward. According to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue officials, the blaze traveled from the rear deck into the upper levels of the home throug…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Mom Grabs Infant, Shuts Door As Flames Tear Through Kingsville Home's Garage: Fire Marshal Mom Grabs Infant, Shuts Door As Flames Tear Through Kingsville Home's Garage: Fire Marshal
Mom Grabs Infant, Shuts Door As Flames Tear Through Kingsville Home's Garage: Fire Marshal A Maryland mother saved her infant, and possibly her home, after a fire broke out on Tuesday morning, officials say. Shortly after 8 a.m. on June 16, a mother heard a smoke alarm and went looking for the source inside her Kingsville home. Then she found flames ripping through her attached garage. Then came a decision that investigators say may have saved the rest of the home. The woman grabbed her infant son, shut the door between the garage and the rest of the residence, and escaped before calling 911, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. The fire drew firefig…

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by Zak Failla
News
Girls Forced To Carve Words Into Their Bodies, Write In Blood For Halethorpe Predator Girls Forced To Carve Words Into Their Bodies, Write In Blood For Halethorpe Predator
Girls Forced To Carve Words Into Their Bodies, Write In Blood For Halethorpe Predator A Maryland man tied to a violent extremist network is heading to prison after admitting to sexually exploiting multiple underage victims in a disturbing online scheme that spanned the globe. Halethorpe native Erik Lee Madison, 21, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to sexually exploiting, cyberstalking, and preying on nearly a dozen young girls, according to federal authorities. Madison used the internet between November 2024 and November 2025 to manipulate and control vulnerable teens, forcing them into acts of abuse, self-harm, and humiliation as p…

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by Zak Failla
News
Towson Student Nazir Bell Found Dead In Potomac River After Multi-Day Search In MoCo Towson Student Nazir Bell Found Dead In Potomac River After Multi-Day Search In MoCo
Towson Student Nazir Bell Found Dead In Potomac River After Multi-Day Search In MoCo The search for Nazir Bell ended in tragedy Tuesday afternoon in Maryland. Search crews recovered the body of the 20-year-old swimmer from the Potomac River on Tuesday, June 16, bringing a heartbreaking end to a multi-day operation near Great Falls, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer announced. Bell had been missing since Sunday night, when he was reported in distress in the water near Billy Goat Trail A, across from Sandy Landing. The search began shortly after 6:15 p.m. on June 14 and quickly grew into a massive response involving crews on both sides of t…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
'Peckers' Finds A Perch: Maryland Firefighters, 6-Year-Old Help Rescue Lost Bird In Potomac 'Peckers' Finds A Perch: Maryland Firefighters, 6-Year-Old Help Rescue Lost Bird In Potomac
'Peckers' Finds A Perch: Maryland Firefighters, 6-Year-Old Help Rescue Lost Bird In Potomac Not every call in Maryland ends with flashing lights and sirens. Sometimes, it ends with a tiny green bird named "Peckers." Firefighters in Potomac got an unusual request on Monday when a resident reported a colorful bird perched high in a tree that appeared to belong to someone. Members of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Engine 733 responded and quickly realized this wasn't your average backyard visitor. The bright-green parakeet seemed comfortable around people, leading crews to believe it was likely somebody's pet. So they got creative. Armed with birdseed and a little patience, fir…

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by Zak Failla
News
Waldorf Man Ran Alabama-To-Maryland Gun Pipeline With Machineguns, Feds Say Waldorf Man Ran Alabama-To-Maryland Gun Pipeline With Machineguns, Feds Say
Waldorf Man Ran Alabama-To-Maryland Gun Pipeline With Machineguns, Feds Say Federal agents say Lester Ramos Perez wasn't bringing furniture with him when he relocated from Alabama to Maryland. A firearms pipeline stretching from the Deep South into Maryland has landed a Guatemalan national living in Waldorf behind bars after investigators say he trafficked stolen guns and machine gun-converted weapons into the state, federal authorities announced. Ramos Perez, 29, has now been sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in the weapons trafficking conspiracy and for possessing a firearm as a prohibited person due to his citizenship status. Investigators first sta…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Nearly $70K Raised After Storm Displaces 28 Horses, Cats At Frederick's By Chance Farm Nearly $70K Raised After Storm Displaces 28 Horses, Cats At Frederick's By Chance Farm
Nearly $70K Raised After Storm Displaces 28 Horses, Cats At Frederick's By Chance Farm Twenty-eight horses and several barn cats are in temporary homes after severe storms ripped through By Chance Farm, leaving owner Michele Wellman scrambling to save the business she has spent more than two decades building. The storm hit Sunday night, June 14, causing extensive damage at the farm in Libertytown. "Last night, my worst nightmare happened," Wellman wrote on Facebook. "Either straight line winds or a possible tornado destroyed my barn." By the next morning, the work had already begun. Volunteers spent hours clearing debris, repairing fencing, salvaging supplies, and helping m…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Two Teachers Injured, Student Detained After Roye-Williams Elementary School Assault: Sheriff Two Teachers Injured, Student Detained After Roye-Williams Elementary School Assault: Sheriff
Two Teachers Injured, Student Detained After Roye-Williams Elementary School Assault: Sheriff Two teachers were injured and a student was taken into custody after an assault at a Maryland elementary school on Tuesday afternoon, authorities confirmed. Deputies responded to Roye-Williams Elementary School in Havre de Grace after a student assaulted two teachers, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office, leaving two with injuries. No students were hurt. Investigators say the incident happened at the school on June 16, and the student was quickly detained.  Officials have not released the student's age or identified the teachers involved. The Harford County Sheriff's Off…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Virginia Legal Weed Sales Set To Spark Up In 2027 Under New Cannabis Deal Virginia Legal Weed Sales Set To Spark Up In 2027 Under New Cannabis Deal
Virginia Legal Weed Sales Set To Spark Up In 2027 Under New Cannabis Deal Virginia’s long-stalled legal marijuana market may finally be ready to light up. Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Sen. Lashrecse Aird, and Del. Paul Krizek announced a new agreement on Tuesday, June 16, that would create a legal, regulated adult-use retail cannabis market in Virginia, with sales set to begin on July 1, 2027. The deal, reached through the state budget process, would complete a years-long effort that began in 2020, when Virginia started moving toward legalization. Adult possession has been legal in Virginia for years. Retail sales have not. That left a hazy middle ground: legal to …

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Flying Out Of DCA? Airport Warns Of Runway Closures, Ground Stops During America 250 Events Flying Out Of DCA? Airport Warns Of Runway Closures, Ground Stops During America 250 Events
Flying Out Of DCA? Airport Warns Of Runway Closures, Ground Stops During America 250 Events The skies over Washington are about to get crowded, and travelers at Reagan National Airport could feel it. Flight schedules at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) will be adjusted throughout the summer as America 250 celebrations bring military flyovers, parachute jumps, fireworks, and other aerial events to downtown DC, airport officials announced Tuesday, June 16. The biggest disruption is expected during Independence Day festivities. On Thursday, July 3, no flights are scheduled at DCA for several hours during the early afternoon to accommodate aerial rehearsals and perform…

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by Zak Failla
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