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
100+ Victims Feared As Virginia Mail Carrier Accused Of Stealing Birthday Cards, Gifts: Sheriff 100+ Victims Feared As Virginia Mail Carrier Accused Of Stealing Birthday Cards, Gifts: Sheriff 100+ Victims Feared As Virginia Mail Carrier Accused Of Stealing Birthday Cards, Gifts: Sheriff
100+ Victims Feared As Virginia Mail Carrier Accused Of Stealing Birthday Cards, Gifts: Sheriff Birthday cards. Graduation money. Holiday gifts. Investigators say they never had a chance of reaching the mailbox. A Virginia rural mail carrier is accused of stealing mail from dozens of people along her route for months, taking everything from gift cards to other valuables in a case investigators now believe could involve more than 100 victims. Crystal Duvonne Dean, 55, of Culpeper, was arrested Tuesday, July 28, following what the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office described as a painstaking, 10-month investigation conducted alongside the United States Postal Inspection Service. Detecti…

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by Zak Failla
Glen Burnie, MD
Breaking News
Woman Followed Home To Glen Burnie From Maryland Live! During Deadly Carjacking Spree, Feds Say Woman Followed Home To Glen Burnie From Maryland Live! During Deadly Carjacking Spree, Feds Say Woman Followed Home To Glen Burnie From Maryland Live! During Deadly Carjacking Spree, Feds Say
Woman Followed Home To Glen Burnie From Maryland Live! During Deadly Carjacking Spree, Feds Say A night that began outside a Maryland casino ended with one woman carjacked in her own driveway. Days later, another victim was dead. Now, one of the men behind the violent crime spree will spend the next 35 years in federal prison. Antonio Purisima, 25, of Baltimore, was sentenced to decades behind bars followed by five years of supervised release for his role in a string of armed carjackings in Maryland that culminated in a deadly shooting, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced. Federal prosecutors said the spree began in June 2022, when Purisima teamed up with…

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by Zak Failla
Laurel, MD
On Your Side
Her Next Chapter? Retirement: Laurel 'Book Worm' Wins $2M Scratch-Off Her Next Chapter? Retirement: Laurel 'Book Worm' Wins $2M Scratch-Off Her Next Chapter? Retirement: Laurel 'Book Worm' Wins $2M Scratch-Off
Her Next Chapter? Retirement: Laurel 'Book Worm' Wins $2M Scratch-Off Every good story needs a twist. For one Maryland "Book Worm," it came hiding beneath a scratch-off ticket worth $2 million. The Laurel woman, who asked to remain anonymous under the nickname "Book Worm," claimed the first of two $2 million top prizes on the Maryland Lottery's Diamonds & Gold scratch-off after what she thought would be an ordinary stop at a 7-Eleven on Baltimore Avenue. The longtime lottery player, a Washington, DC, native who has lived in Laurel for the past five years, makes weekly trips to buy Pick 3, Pick 4 and scratch-off tickets before heading home to her latest b…

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by Zak Failla
Suitland, MD
Breaking News
Vehicle Fire Shuts Down US 50, Snarls Maryland Commute Near Capital Beltway (UPDATED) Vehicle Fire Shuts Down US 50, Snarls Maryland Commute Near Capital Beltway (UPDATED) Vehicle Fire Shuts Down US 50, Snarls Maryland Commute Near Capital Beltway (UPDATED)
Vehicle Fire Shuts Down US 50, Snarls Maryland Commute Near Capital Beltway (Updated) A Maryland commuter's worst nightmare unfolded on US 50 Wednesday morning. A fiery three-vehicle crash shut down nearly all westbound traffic approaching the Capital Beltway, backing up miles of traffic as firefighters, hazmat crews and highway responders rushed to the scene. The crash happened around 8:35 a.m. on westbound US 50 near Exit 8 for Martin Luther King Jr. Highway (MD 704) in Prince George's County, just before the I-95/I-495 interchange. Initial reports indicated three vehicles were involved, with one catching fire and prompting a hazardous materials response. According to th…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Obituaries
'One Of Our Own': Maryland Community Mourns 4-Year-Old Girl Found In River 'One Of Our Own': Maryland Community Mourns 4-Year-Old Girl Found In River 'One Of Our Own': Maryland Community Mourns 4-Year-Old Girl Found In River
'One Of Our Own': Maryland Community Mourns 4-Year-Old Girl Found In River A Maryland town spent Sunday searching for a missing little girl. By nightfall, it was praying for her family instead. Pocomoke City is mourning 4-year-old Skylar after the child was found in the Pocomoke River following an urgent search Sunday morning, leaving behind grieving parents, heartbroken classmates, and a community struggling to make sense of the loss. Deputies with the Worcester County Sheriff's Office joined Pocomoke City police shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 26, after the girl was reported missing. She was found in the river a short time later. Police officers and EM…

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by Zak Failla
College Park, MD
Breaking News
10 Displaced, 2 Firefighters Hurt As Maryland Fire Tears Through PG County Home 10 Displaced, 2 Firefighters Hurt As Maryland Fire Tears Through PG County Home 10 Displaced, 2 Firefighters Hurt As Maryland Fire Tears Through PG County Home
10 Displaced, 2 Firefighters Hurt As Maryland Fire Tears Through PG County Home In a matter of minutes, 10 people were forced from their home as flames ripped through a Maryland house on Tuesday afternoon. The fire broke out around 1:15 p.m. in the 6800 block of Dower House Road in the Mellwood area, where firefighters found heavy fire on the first floor of a single-family home. Crews quickly knocked down the blaze, but not before two Prince George's County firefighters were hurt on the job. Both were taken to a hospital for evaluation. Their conditions were not immediately available late on Tuesday afternoon. The fire also left seven adults and three juveniles witho…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Weather
Tornado Watch Issued Across Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia As Severe Storms Move In Tornado Watch Issued Across Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia As Severe Storms Move In Tornado Watch Issued Across Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia As Severe Storms Move In
Tornado Watch Issued Across Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia As Severe Storms Move In Maryland is under a Tornado Watch until 10 p.m. Tuesday as forecasters warn the atmosphere is primed for dangerous thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding across much of the region. The National Weather Service issued an alert on Tuesday afternoon, replacing part of an earlier Severe Thunderstorm Watch as conditions became more favorable for tornado development. The watch includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's and St. Mary's counties, along with all o…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Woman Who Filmed Sex With Minor In Frederick Learns Fate: 'Destroyed My Understanding Of Love' Woman Who Filmed Sex With Minor In Frederick Learns Fate: 'Destroyed My Understanding Of Love' Woman Who Filmed Sex With Minor In Frederick Learns Fate: 'Destroyed My Understanding Of Love'
Woman Who Filmed Sex With Minor In Frederick Learns Fate: 'Destroyed My Understanding Of Love' A 53-year-old Maryland woman who sexually abused a minor and filmed the illicit acts will spend decades in prison, authorities announced. Frederick resident Rebecca Wightman has been sentenced to 60 years in prison, with all but 40 years suspended, following her arrest and subsequent guilty plea for abusing a minor in her care. According to the Frederick County State's Attorney's Office, on Aug. 10, 2025, deputies from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office were called to investigate a reported sex offense involving Wightman and an underage child. Police were shown video evidence of the 53-…

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by Zak Failla
Herndon, VA
Obituaries
'Brought Joy To Everyone': Thousands Raised For 9-Year-Old Killed In Herndon E-Scooter Crash 'Brought Joy To Everyone': Thousands Raised For 9-Year-Old Killed In Herndon E-Scooter Crash 'Brought Joy To Everyone': Thousands Raised For 9-Year-Old Killed In Herndon E-Scooter Crash
'Brought Joy To Everyone': Thousands Raised For 9-Year-Old Killed In Herndon E-Scooter Crash The little boy whose death devastated a Northern Virginia neighborhood is now being remembered for something far bigger than the tragedy that took him. Friends and neighbors have raised more than $39,000 to help the family of 9-year-old Badrinarayan Hungund, describing the Herndon boy as someone who "brought joy, love, and happiness to everyone who knew him." The GoFundMe was created by family friend Venkata Pola on behalf of Badrinarayan's parents, Anand and Anusha Hungund, following the fatal crash that claimed their son's life last week. "No parent should ever have to endure the pain of…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Maryland Officer Accused Of Helping Steal Cars, Alter VINs In Arlington Fraud Scheme: Police Maryland Officer Accused Of Helping Steal Cars, Alter VINs In Arlington Fraud Scheme: Police Maryland Officer Accused Of Helping Steal Cars, Alter VINs In Arlington Fraud Scheme: Police
Maryland Officer Accused Of Helping Steal Cars, Alter VINs In Arlington Fraud Scheme: Police A stolen car parked in a Virginia garage led investigators somewhere they never expected. In Virginia, a Maryland police officer is accused of using law enforcement resources to help a Washington, DC man steal vehicles, alter VINs and disguise stolen cars during an alleged fraud scheme that stretched more than a year, according to Arlington County police. Sierra Alston, 33, and Renaldo Gaines, 35, both of DC, were arrested last week following a lengthy investigation that began on March 18, 2025. Police say an officer conducting extra patrols inside a parking garage in the 800 block of Army…

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by Zak Failla
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