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

Fort Washington, MD

Weather

Neighbor Helps Maryland Resident Escape After Massive Tree Crushes Fort Washington Home A Maryland resident escaped without a scratch Tuesday morning after a massive tree came crashing through a two-story home in Fort Washington, thanks in part to a quick-thinking neighbor. The collapse happened around 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 4, in the 12900 block of Heather Circle in Prince George's County, where firefighters arrived to find the tree split through the middle of the house. According to the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department, the occupant was able to self-extricate with assistance from a neighbor before crews arrived. No injuries were reported. Photos from the scene show the…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2026

Silver Spring, MD

Breaking News

DOJ Says Montgomery County Gun Law Violates Supreme Court Decision Maryland's toughest local gun restrictions are now at the center of a federal lawsuit. The US Department of Justice has sued Montgomery County, accusing officials of violating the Second Amendment by making it nearly impossible for law-abiding residents with concealed carry permits to legally carry firearms in public. The lawsuit, filed Monday, Aug. 3, targets Montgomery County's recently enacted Bill 23-26, which prohibits firearms in thousands of locations throughout the county and creates a 100-yard exclusion zone around each of those places. According to the Justice Department, the res…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2026

Lexington Park, MD

Breaking News

Maryland Coach Tried To Save Neighbor Before Deadly Fire Changed Everything One split-second decision changed everything. Maryland basketball coach Ebony Ballard tried to help her elderly neighbor escape the Salisbury fire that would ultimately claim his life. When she could do no more, she was forced to make the unimaginable choice to get herself and her daughter, Amanda, to safety. Now, just days later, the woman known for pouring into young athletes across the community is the one her community is rallying around. The July 30 fire broke out shortly after 12:35 p.m. inside a one-story, five-unit row home in the 500 block of Tangier Street in Salisbury, according…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2026

Gaithersburg, MD

Breaking News

Riverdale Park Man Charged In Fatal Maryland Apartment Shooting: Police Violence inside a Maryland apartment ended with one man dead and another in handcuffs. Prince George's County detectives have charged 34-year-old Noe Castillo-Mendez, of Riverdale Park, with murder in the fatal shooting of 44-year-old Dolores Leiva Hernandez, who was found dead inside an apartment late last week. The shooting happened at about 10:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 30, in the 5400 block of Kenilworth Terrace in Riverdale Park. Officers responded after receiving reports of a shooting and found Hernandez suffering from gunshot wounds inside the apartment. He was pronounced dead at the…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2026

Silver Spring, MD

Obituaries

Amazon Engineer Dies On Lake Tahoe Church Trip, Friends In Silver Spring Say A 32-year-old Amazon software engineer died on what friends say was a church trip to Lake Tahoe. Yadessa Emiru Aga died Monday, July 27, after drowning at Nevada's Sand Harbor State Park, SFGATE reports, citing Washoe County officials. Aga had reportedly swum out to boulders offshore when he went underwater and became unresponsive, the outlet reports. Witnesses pulled him from the water and began CPR before deputies and emergency responders arrived. Despite lifesaving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. A GoFundMe set by friends in Silver Spring said Aga had been attending a…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2026

Germantown, MD

Breaking News

One Dead, Several Seriously Hurt After Germantown 'Mass Casualty Incident' (Developing) One vehicle ended up on its roof. The other was crushed beyond recognition. By sunrise Tuesday, one person was dead and several others had been seriously injured after a violent two-vehicle crash in Maryland that left occupants trapped, sparked a vehicle fire and brought dozens of first responders rushing to one of Montgomery County's busiest intersections. The crash happened around 5:30 a.m. at Clopper Road and Great Seneca Highway in Germantown, where Montgomery County police and fire crews arrived to find an overturned vehicle on fire and another with catastrophic damage. UPDATE: Clo…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2026

Columbia, MD

Breaking News

Their Dream Home Was Finally Ready; Then A Howard County Fire Changed Everything They were finally home. After spending the summer renovating their new Turf Valley townhouse, Mindo Choi and Eunjik Lee had begun building the life they'd worked toward for years. Their three children were settling in. Lee's parents had made the long trip from South Korea for their first visit. Every room was starting to feel lived in. Then came the fire. The Howard County family escaped safely when flames tore through neighboring townhomes on the morning of Monday, July 27, but almost everything they owned was left behind. Now, one week later, they're doing something they never im…

by Zak Failla

08/04/2026

Fredericksburg, VA

Breaking News

Stafford Sheriff's Sergeant Secretly Bought Child Abuse Material On Telegram: FBI A Virginia sheriff's sergeant is facing federal child sexual abuse material charges after investigators say he spent years using Telegram to buy and receive graphic images and videos depicting the abuse of children. Justin Thomas Lee Forman, 37, of Fredericksburg, a sergeant with the Stafford County Sheriff's Office, was arrested on Thursday, July 30, following an FBI investigation, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced Monday, Aug. 3. According to federal court documents, Forman allegedly used a Telegram account beginning as early as 2023 to solicit, purch…

by Zak Failla

08/03/2026

Mount Airy-Woodbine, MD

Breaking News

Exhausted Buck Gets Bucket Brigade After Escaping Mud Trap In Mt. Airy (Photos) An exhausted buck that managed to free itself from a muddy predicament got one more lifeline from Carroll County firefighters before heading back into the wild. Crews from the Mount Airy station were dispatched Monday after someone reported a deer stuck in the mud, according to the Carroll County Department of Fire and EMS. By the time firefighters arrived, the young buck had already pulled itself free, but just barely. It was too exhausted to stand for long and appeared completely spent. That's when Lt. Mike Moser grabbed a bucket of water. The deer was rescued in Carroll Co…

by Zak Failla

08/03/2026

Arlington, VA

Obituaries

'He Brought Light Into Every Room': DC Father Of Two Killed In 'Senseless Violence' He should have been making more memories with his kids. Instead, his family is planning his funeral. Maryland and DC loved ones are mourning Jamari Millet, a young father of two who was killed in what relatives describe as a "senseless act of violence" on Tuesday, July 28. A GoFundMe created by his mother, Shawnice Millet, and co-organizer Markisha Moore says Jamari's death came without warning, leaving behind two young children, devastated parents, and a family now facing funeral expenses while trying to cope with an unimaginable loss. "Jamari was a wonderful father, a loyal friend, an am…

by Zak Failla

08/03/2026

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