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

Towson, MD

Breaking News

Maryland Woman Who Beat Breast Cancer Twice Left With Only Clothes On Her Back Melissa Varner fought her way back from breast cancer. Then she did it again. Now she's facing another battle she never saw coming. A fire has destroyed the Maryland apartment Varner spent years rebuilding into a home after surviving breast cancer twice, leaving her with little more than the clothes she escaped in, according to her family. For the people who know her, that's the part that's hardest to accept. They watched Varner endure two separate fights with breast cancer, then slowly rebuild the life cancer tried to take away. She worked to create a home that represented far more than …

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

Waldorf, MD

Breaking News

Waldorf Man Who 'Shattered Child's Sense Of Safety' In Maryland Learns Prison Fate A 40-year-old Maryland man received the max sentence after preying on a minor over the course of nearly two years. Waldorf resident Terrod Lamar Branson has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 21 years to serve, for the sexual abuse of a minor that occurred between 2023 and 2025, the St. Mary's County State's Attorney's Office announced. The last reported incident of abuse occurred in July 2025, according to court documents. “Few crimes are more disturbing and devastating than the sexual abuse of a child. These offenses shatter a child’s sense of safety, betray their trust, an…

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

Woodbridge, VA

Breaking News

Family Member Sought In Fatal Woodbridge Shooting As Police Launch Manhunt (Developing) He was gone before police got there. Prince William County detectives are searching for a 23-year-old man they say shot and killed a family member at a Woodbridge apartment complex before disappearing Monday night. The homicide happened around 9:12 p.m. on July 27 at The Fitzgerald apartments in the 13400 block of Grayson Hill Circle. According to investigators, officers were called for a domestic dispute involving weapons and found 21-year-old Ricardo Xavier Haley, of Gainesville, suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body. Officers immediately began rendering aid, but Haley died a…

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

Havre de Grace, MD

Your Community

'Save Ezra's Walls': Community Fights To Preserve Late Havre de Grace County Artist's Legacy The murals outlived Ezra Berger. Now, the community is fighting to make sure they stay that way. In Maryland, just days after the beloved Havre de Grace artist's death, residents have launched a growing campaign to preserve Berger's iconic Graw Alley murals as plans move forward for a long-planned expansion of the Harmer's Town Art Center. The effort, led by community member George Wagner, calls on the Harmer's Town Board of Directors, Havre de Grace City Council and local leaders to explore ways to save the mural walls rather than see them demolished as part of the project's next phase. "…

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

Annandale, VA

Breaking News

Officer Shoots Knife-Wielding Man During Domestic Call In Annandale: Police (Developing) A man was shot by a police officer in Virginia after officers responding to a reported domestic incident involving a knife chased him on foot on Monday afternoon, authorities said. The officer-involved shooting happened in the 7000 block of Sutter Lane in Annandale. According to Fairfax County Police, officers were called to the area for a domestic incident involving a knife. When they arrived, they located the man, who fled the scene on foot. During the encounter, one officer fired their weapon, striking the man, police said. The man was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that…

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

Arnold, MD

Breaking News

Charlotte Hall Driver Killed After Mazda Leaves Road, Hits Tree In Arnold (Developing) A late-night drive ended in tragedy. In Maryland, Anne Arundel County police are investigating a fatal single-vehicle crash that claimed the life of a 33-year-old Charlotte Hall man in Arnold late Monday night. Officers were called around 10:30 p.m. on July 27 to Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, west of Governor Ritchie Highway, where they found a crashed 2020 Mazda 3. Investigators say the driver was heading south when he failed to negotiate a left-hand curve, causing the Mazda to leave the roadway, then slam into a guardrail and a tree. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene by membe…

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

La Plata, MD

Breaking News

Trauma ICU Security Officer Faces Fight Of His Life After Devastating La Plata Motorcycle Crash Life changed in an instant. John Jeffers Jr. is determined not to let it define him. In Maryland, the Waldorf husband, father, and longtime Inova Fairfax Hospital security officer is facing the fight of his life after a devastating motorcycle crash left him with multiple broken bones, months of recovery ahead, and a family waiting for him to come home. Jeffers, who has worked as a security officer in Inova Fairfax's Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit since 2018, was seriously injured on July 24 when his motorcycle was involved in a multi-vehicle crash near Crain Highway and Mitchell Road i…

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

Fredericksburg, VA

Obituaries

Fredericksburg Mom Killed In Motorcycle Crash 'Dedicated Her Life' To 3 Sons, Loved Ones Say Jennifer Hollingsworth was doing what she loved. Then everything changed in an instant. The 39-year-old Fredericksburg mother of three was killed in a motorcycle crash on Thursday, July 23, in Fairfax County, leaving behind three sons now surrounded by a grieving community determined to help carry them through the days ahead. The crash happened shortly after 7:15 p.m. at the intersection of Ox Road and Chapel Road in Fairfax Station, according to Fairfax County Police. Detectives say Hollingsworth was riding a 2025 Suzuki GSX-R750 north on Ox Road when her motorcycle struck a 2021 Buick En…

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

Annapolis, MD

Breaking News

Millersville Father Waiting For Three Life-Saving Organs Refuses To Give Up A Maryland husband and father is refusing to give up. In Anne Arundel County, Millersville resident JaNathan "Jay" Crutchfield, 42, has spent the past month fighting for his life at Johns Hopkins Hospital after a sudden medical crisis left him in need of not one, but three life-saving organ transplants. Jay was rushed to the hospital on June 29 after suffering cardiogenic shock caused by advanced heart failure from cardiomyopathy. The medical emergency triggered multiple organ failure, leaving him dependent on dialysis, life-support devices and around-the-clock intensive care. The r…

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

Columbia, MD

Breaking News

Columbia Man Accused Of Killing Girlfriend Captured Hundreds Of Miles Away In Texas (Updated) He didn't stay on the run for long. A Maryland man wanted in the strangulation death of his girlfriend in Howard County has been captured hundreds of miles away in Texas, authorities announced Monday evening. Darwin Carcamo-Santiago, 24, was taken into custody without incident Monday afternoon by local authorities in Texas, according to Howard County police. Investigators have not said where in Texas he was found or when he is expected to be returned to Maryland. Carcamo-Santiago is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of 35-year-old Esmeralda Perez-Mendez of Takoma P…

by Zak Failla

07/28/2026

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