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

Severna Park, MD
Obituaries
Steve Reynolds Coached Kids, Umpired Games, Fostered Animals Before Deadly Severna Park Hit-Run Steve Reynolds Coached Kids, Umpired Games, Fostered Animals Before Deadly Severna Park Hit-Run Steve Reynolds Coached Kids, Umpired Games, Fostered Animals Before Deadly Severna Park Hit-Run
Steve Reynolds Coached Kids, Umpired Games, Fostered Animals Before Deadly Severna Park Hit-Run Steve Reynolds spent decades giving back to the community he called home. Now that community is stepping up for the family he left behind. The 54-year-old Severna Park man died on Sunday, Oct. 4, hours after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while crossing Ritchie Highway in Anne Arundel County, police confirmed on Monday. Officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department were called shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Severna Park, where Reynolds was struck by an SUV while in a crosswalk at the intersection of Ritchie Highway and Magothy Bridge Road. He was rushed …

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Tractor-Trailer Crash, Fuel Spill On I-495 Leads To 4-Mile Backup In Maryland (DEVELOPING) Tractor-Trailer Crash, Fuel Spill On I-495 Leads To 4-Mile Backup In Maryland (DEVELOPING) Tractor-Trailer Crash, Fuel Spill On I-495 Leads To 4-Mile Backup In Maryland (DEVELOPING)
Tractor-Trailer Crash, Fuel Spill On I-495 Leads To 4-Mile Backup In Maryland (Developing) A messy Monday afternoon crash turned the Capital Beltway into a parking lot in Maryland. The crash was reported at approximately 2:50 p.m. on Oct. 5 on the Inner Loop of I-495 in Montgomery County, between University Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue, near Exit 29, according to officials. Multiple vehicles were involved, including a tractor-trailer, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer said. The collision also caused a fuel spill, creating hazardous road conditions as firefighters and other first responders worked at the scene. Several patients were being…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
Michelin-Recognized DC Restaurant Damaged By Fire Gets Helping Hand From Neighborhood Michelin-Recognized DC Restaurant Damaged By Fire Gets Helping Hand From Neighborhood Michelin-Recognized DC Restaurant Damaged By Fire Gets Helping Hand From Neighborhood
Michelin-Recognized DC Restaurant Damaged By Fire Gets Helping Hand From Neighborhood The flames are out, but one of DC's most popular neighborhood restaurants is getting some help from the community while its doors remain closed. More than $2,500 has been raised for employees of The Royal in LeDroit Park after an accidental fire broke out above the Michelin-recognized restaurant on Wednesday, Sept. 30, forcing it to temporarily shut down. DC Fire and EMS crews were called to the 500 block of Florida Avenue NW at around 10 p.m. that night, where they arrived to find fire showing from the roof of the two-story mixed-use building. The fire at The Royal. Twitter/@d…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Everyone Made It Out, But 11 Were Displaced By Two-Alarm Hagerstown Duplex Fire Everyone Made It Out, But 11 Were Displaced By Two-Alarm Hagerstown Duplex Fire Everyone Made It Out, But 11 Were Displaced By Two-Alarm Hagerstown Duplex Fire
Everyone Made It Out, But 11 Were Displaced By Two-Alarm Hagerstown Duplex Fire There was no telling who might still be inside as flames tore through both sides of a Maryland duplex. The fire broke out shortly after 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, on Clarendon Avenue in Hagerstown's West End, where firefighters arrived to find the second floor of the two-family home engulfed. The flames were threatening a neighboring house, and firefighters did not yet know whether everyone had made it out. That sent crews into both sides of the duplex to search for anyone still inside while more help was called to the scene and the fire grew to two alarms. The searches came back clear.…

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by Zak Failla
Stafford, VA
Breaking News
Now You See It, Now You Don't: Stafford Driver Had License Plate-Hiding Device, Sheriff Says Now You See It, Now You Don't: Stafford Driver Had License Plate-Hiding Device, Sheriff Says Now You See It, Now You Don't: Stafford Driver Had License Plate-Hiding Device, Sheriff Says
Now You See It, Now You Don't: Stafford Driver Had License Plate-Hiding Device, Sheriff Says Some drivers try to dodge attention. One Virginia driver came equipped to make his license plate disappear. In Stafford, First Sgt. Demirci spotted two vehicles moving erratically near Wyche Road shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, prompting a traffic stop, according to the sheriff's office. What started with some questionable driving quickly became a weapons investigation. Both drivers acknowledged having guns in their vehicles, investigators said. Neither had a concealed carry permit. Then deputies took a closer look at one of the vehicles. Inside, investigators found someth…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
$100 Theft Put Great Mills Man On Home Detention, Then He Made A Run For It: Sheriff $100 Theft Put Great Mills Man On Home Detention, Then He Made A Run For It: Sheriff $100 Theft Put Great Mills Man On Home Detention, Then He Made A Run For It: Sheriff
$100 Theft Put Great Mills Man On Home Detention, Then He Made A Run For It: Sheriff A Maryland man convicted of drug possession and stealing less than $100 apparently decided home detention was too much to handle, and now deputies say he is on the run after ditching his GPS monitor. James Robert Anderson Jr., 44, of Great Mills, is wanted for escape after bolting from deputies in Lexington Park, according to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were called to the 21000 block of Liberty Street on Sept. 15 to take Anderson into custody for violating the terms of his home detention, investigators said. He had been placed on home detention following convictions fo…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Fully Involved Laytonsville Barn Collapses With Tons Of Hay Still Burning Inside (PHOTOS) Fully Involved Laytonsville Barn Collapses With Tons Of Hay Still Burning Inside (PHOTOS) Fully Involved Laytonsville Barn Collapses With Tons Of Hay Still Burning Inside (PHOTOS)
Fully Involved Laytonsville Barn Collapses With Tons Of Hay Still Burning Inside (Photos) A massive barn was already engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at a Maryland farm early Monday morning. Crews were called to Seneca Ayr Farms in the 22300 block of Laytonsville Road in Laytonsville at around 2 a.m. on Oct. 5, where they found the hay barn well involved, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service officials. And getting enough water onto it quickly became part of the challenge. There are no hydrants in the area, prompting MCFRS to call in a Water Supply Task Force with tankers and several brush trucks as more than 60 firefighters converged on the propert…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
12-Year-Old Girl Killed, 4 Others Wounded In Baltimore Shooting: Police (UPDATED) 12-Year-Old Girl Killed, 4 Others Wounded In Baltimore Shooting: Police (UPDATED) 12-Year-Old Girl Killed, 4 Others Wounded In Baltimore Shooting: Police (UPDATED)
12-Year-Old Girl Killed, 4 Others Wounded In Baltimore Shooting: Police (Updated) A 12-year-old girl is dead, and several others were hospitalized following a mass shooting in Maryland. Gunshots rang out around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, in the 1200 block of North Franklintown Road in Baltimore, prompting a massive response from the Baltimore Police Department. Upon arrival, first responders found the girl suffering from a gunshot wound, as well as a 25-year-old woman who had also been struck. The 12-year-old was rushed to an area hospital, where she was later pronounced dead despite efforts to save her. As officers investigated the shooting, a 28-year-old man and …

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by Zak Failla
Galloway, NJ
Breaking News
Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels
Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels Some of the passengers were dead. Some of the drivers had never driven a car. But a New Jersey woman and her Colombian lover apparently had no trouble taking taxpayers for a ride. For years, prosecutors say, Jael Watts, 45, of Alloway, operated Pearl Transit Corporation, a New Jersey-based company that purported to have drivers scattered across the country giving rides to elderly and disabled people while also conducting outreach for homeless Americans. Watts and Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Bogota, Colombia, were convicted following a multi-week federal trial in Utica of orchestrating a spraw…

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by Zak Failla
Severna Park, MD
Breaking News
Pedestrian Nearly Killed In Crosswalk By Hit-Run Land Rover Driver In Severna Park, Police Say Pedestrian Nearly Killed In Crosswalk By Hit-Run Land Rover Driver In Severna Park, Police Say Pedestrian Nearly Killed In Crosswalk By Hit-Run Land Rover Driver In Severna Park, Police Say
Pedestrian Nearly Killed In Crosswalk By Hit-Run Land Rover Driver In Severna Park, Police Say A pedestrian doing all the right things came dangerously close to being killed by a hit-and-run driver in Maryland. Officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department were called shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Severna Park, where a person was struck by an SUV while in a crosswalk at the intersection of Ritchie Highway and Magothy Bridge Road. Investigators described the crash as near-fatal. Video from nearby businesses helped police identify the vehicle as a dark-colored Land Rover Discovery that was traveling north on Ritchie Highway when it struck the pedestrian. …

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by Zak Failla
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