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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
Beagle Kicked Airborne At Dulles Refuses To Quit, Still Busting Smugglers A Year Later Beagle Kicked Airborne At Dulles Refuses To Quit, Still Busting Smugglers A Year Later
Beagle Kicked Airborne At Dulles Refuses To Quit, Still Busting Smugglers A Year Later You can't keep a good beagle down. A Virginia detector dog who was kicked so hard by an international traveler at Dulles Airport that he went airborne has made a full recovery and is back doing what he does best, catching smugglers one sniff at a time. One year after the shocking assault, Freddie, the 6-year-old US Customs and Border Protection agriculture detector beagle stationed at the Sterling airport, is thriving and still protecting America's food supply. In fact, Freddie celebrated a milestone this week. On Tuesday, June 30, the veteran beagle recorded his 200th agriculture detecti…

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by Zak Failla
Real Estate
$65.7M Refinance Secured For Morgan Stanley-Anchored Baltimore Office Tower $65.7M Refinance Secured For Morgan Stanley-Anchored Baltimore Office Tower
$65.7M Refinance Secured For Morgan Stanley-Anchored Baltimore Office Tower A major Maryland waterfront office tower has landed a multimillion-dollar financial vote of confidence. In Baltimore's Harbor Point neighborhood, the eight-story Thames Street Wharf office building has secured a $65.7 million refinancing package, according to commercial real estate firm JLL, which arranged the transaction on behalf of owner AH Realty Trust. The five-year loan covers the 263,426-square-foot waterfront property overlooking the Inner Harbor, one of the first buildings developed as part of Harbor Point's transformation from a former industrial brownfield into one of Baltimore's…

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by Zak Failla
News
Handcuffed Driver Dies After Maryland Crash As AG Launches Investigation (DEVELOPING) Handcuffed Driver Dies After Maryland Crash As AG Launches Investigation (DEVELOPING)
Handcuffed Driver Dies After Maryland Crash As AG Launches Investigation (Developing) A Maryland man died after becoming unresponsive while in police custody following a late-night crash, triggering an investigation by the Independent Investigations Division of the Attorney General's Office. The incident unfolded around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, in Greenbelt, where the US Park Police requested assistance from local police after officers spotted a vehicle leave the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and crash into a wooded area off Southway in Prince George's County. According to investigators, US Park Police officers had already handcuffed the driver and escorted him from the …

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by Zak Failla
News
Helicopters, Drones, Sonar Deployed In Search For Missing Teen At Great Falls (DEVELOPING) Helicopters, Drones, Sonar Deployed In Search For Missing Teen At Great Falls (DEVELOPING)
Helicopters, Drones, Sonar Deployed In Search For Missing Teen At Great Falls (Developing) He went into the Potomac with friends. Hours later, despite helicopters overhead, sonar sweeping the river, drones in the air and underwater, and dozens of rescuers searching one of the region's most dangerous waterways, the 16-year-old still hadn't been found. The search began around 6:15 a.m. on Thursday, July 2, when Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service crews were called to the Potomac River near Sandy Landing and Great Falls after reports that a teenage boy entered the water and never resurfaced. Swift water rescue teams from Montgomery County and Fairfax County launched an extens…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Dad Jailed On Drug, Gun Charges. Deputies Make Sure His Kids Get Dinner Dad Jailed On Drug, Gun Charges. Deputies Make Sure His Kids Get Dinner
Dad Jailed On Drug, Gun Charges. Deputies Make Sure His Kids Get Dinner Deputies in Virginia say a convicted felon was driving through Spotsylvania County with multiple narcotics, a firearm, and two young children inside his SUV before a routine traffic stop brought everything to a halt. William Maynard, 35, of Louisa, was arrested late on Sunday, June 28, by members of the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office after he was spotted driving with a suspended license in the 10100 block of Patriot Highway. Maynard couldn't legally drive away. And no one else in the vehicle could either. With no licensed driver available to take the SUV, deputies prepared to tow it an…

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by Zak Failla
News
Missing Virginia Teacher's Final Adventure Ends In Tragedy After Body Found In Peru Missing Virginia Teacher's Final Adventure Ends In Tragedy After Body Found In Peru
Missing Virginia Teacher's Final Adventure Ends In Tragedy After Body Found In Peru He chased the world with a backpack, a smile, and an endless curiosity. Now, the search for missing Virginia teacher Ian Treger has ended in heartbreak after his family confirmed his body was found in Peru more than six weeks after he vanished while preparing for a solo hike through the Andes. Treger, of Lexington, was last heard from on Wednesday, May 13, while in Cusco, Peru, where he had been preparing to trek one of the region's historic Andean trails.  Ian Treger GoFundMe When he suddenly stopped communicating, his disappearance sparked an international search involvi…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
'That's Some Karma': Maryland Man's Getaway Truck Stolen During Verizon Break-In (VIDEO) 'That's Some Karma': Maryland Man's Getaway Truck Stolen During Verizon Break-In (VIDEO)
'That's Some Karma': Maryland Man's Getaway Truck Stolen During Verizon Break-In (Video) Karma always has a way of biting back. For one man in Maryland, calling 911 to report his stolen truck turned out to be a spectacularly bad idea. Police say the truck was only parked in a Howard County shopping center because its owner had just burglarized the Verizon store across the lot, only to come back and discover someone else had stolen his ride. The strange scene played out in Howard County. Howard County Police Newly released body camera footage shows the bizarre encounter as the man reports his truck missing, while officers simultaneously begin connecting him to the smash…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Third Teen Arrested In Virginia Killing Of 18-Year-Old Found Dead In Backyard: Police Third Teen Arrested In Virginia Killing Of 18-Year-Old Found Dead In Backyard: Police
Third Teen Arrested In Virginia Killing Of 18-Year-Old Found Dead In Backyard: Police The arrests aren't over yet. A third teenager has been charged in the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old Virginia man who was shot inside a Manassas mobile home community before staggering away and collapsing in a nearby backyard, Prince William County police announced on Thursday, July 2. The latest arrest came a day earlier, when detectives, assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the US Marshals Task Force, arrested a 17-year-old Manassas Park resident at his home. He is now charged with: Felony murder; Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony; Cons…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
8-Year-Old Climbs Out Of Hot Car To Find Help During Dangerous Virginia Heat: Police 8-Year-Old Climbs Out Of Hot Car To Find Help During Dangerous Virginia Heat: Police
8-Year-Old Climbs Out Of Hot Car To Find Help During Dangerous Virginia Heat: Police The heat warnings stopped being theoretical in Virginia when a child was left alone in a hot car. With the region contending with temperatures approaching 100 degrees on Wednesday, police in Prince William County say an 8-year-old girl was left alone inside a parked vehicle in direct sunlight for nearly an hour before climbing out and seeking assistance. The incident unfolded around 3:55 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, when officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called to the 8100 block of Flannery Court in the Manassas area to investigate a report of child neglect. Inve…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Driver Crashes Into Pickup, Tree Before Police Discover Texas Wants Him For DUI: Police Driver Crashes Into Pickup, Tree Before Police Discover Texas Wants Him For DUI: Police
Driver Crashes Into Pickup, Tree Before Police Discover Texas Wants Him For DUI: Police The crash wasn't the end of the trouble. A Virginia driver accused of causing a hit-and-run crash before plowing through a field and into a tree is also wanted hundreds of miles away in Texas on separate DUI-related charges, police say. The bizarre chain of events unfolded around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, when Culpeper Police were called after a witness reported a gray SUV weaving along Madison Road and repeatedly striking curbs. Before officers could catch up, investigators say the SUV entered the Southgate Shopping Center parking lot, then pulled back onto the road. Google Maps …

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by Zak Failla
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