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

Alexandria, VA
Your Community
Virginia Councilman Encouraged AI Child Sex Abuse Images, Traded Pics Of Himself: DOJ Virginia Councilman Encouraged AI Child Sex Abuse Images, Traded Pics Of Himself: DOJ Virginia Councilman Encouraged AI Child Sex Abuse Images, Traded Pics Of Himself: DOJ
Virginia Councilman Encouraged AI Child Sex Abuse Images, Traded Pics Of Himself: DOJ A Virginia town councilman is accused of encouraging others online to create AI-generated images of children being sexually abused, federal authorities announced. Steven Wayne Erickson, 48, of Pulaski, was arrested on Thursday, July 23, on federal charges of receiving and distributing child sexual abuse material, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia. Pulaski has served on the Pulaski Town Council since 2024, WDBJ reports. His image remained on the town's website as of Monday, July 27. The FBI investigation began after agents received a cyber tip involvi…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Wanted Virginia Driver Busted After Hit-Run Reveals Open Booze, Ignition Interlock: Sheriff Wanted Virginia Driver Busted After Hit-Run Reveals Open Booze, Ignition Interlock: Sheriff Wanted Virginia Driver Busted After Hit-Run Reveals Open Booze, Ignition Interlock: Sheriff
Wanted Virginia Driver Busted After Hit-Run Reveals Open Booze, Ignition Interlock: Sheriff If there was a wrong decision to make, deputies say Gordon Bruce made just about all of them. Stafford County deputies arrested the 60-year-old Fredericksburg man, after what started out as a midday hit-and-run rapidly spiraled into one long day for everyone involved. The chain of events unfolded around 4:55 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, along Stafford Lakes Parkway. Deputies say Gordon Bruce, 60, of Fredericksburg, rear-ended another driver before fleeing the scene and running a red light. It didn't get him very far. Responding deputies found Bruce's vehicle nearby with heavy front-end dam…

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by Zak Failla
Herndon, VA
Breaking News
New Details Released After 9-Year-Old Dies In Sully Square E-Scooter Crash (UPDATED) New Details Released After 9-Year-Old Dies In Sully Square E-Scooter Crash (UPDATED) New Details Released After 9-Year-Old Dies In Sully Square E-Scooter Crash (UPDATED)
New Details Released After 9-Year-Old Dies In Sully Square E-Scooter Crash (Updated) New details released Friday by Fairfax County Police are shedding light on the crash that killed a 9-year-old boy riding an electric scooter in Herndon, as investigators continue working to determine exactly what happened. The crash happened around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, in the 3000 block of Madden Court in the Sully Square community. Crash Reconstruction Unit detectives say a 2012 Honda Odyssey was making a left turn from Highland Mews Court onto Madden Court when it collided with the child, who was riding an electric scooter in the parking area. The boy suffered life-threatening…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Mom Who Fled Before 100-Year Sentence In Baby's Death Case Captured: US Marshals Maryland Mom Who Fled Before 100-Year Sentence In Baby's Death Case Captured: US Marshals Maryland Mom Who Fled Before 100-Year Sentence In Baby's Death Case Captured: US Marshals
Maryland Mom Who Fled Before 100-Year Sentence In Baby's Death Case Captured: US Marshals Ashley Nicole Franklin made the US Marshals' Most Wanted list. Now, nearly a year after disappearing instead of reporting to prison, the Maryland mother convicted in the death of her 10-month-old daughter has been captured hundreds of miles from home. The 39-year-old was arrested on Thursday, July 23, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, ending a months-long manhunt led by the US Marshals Service, according to federal authorities and the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Franklin was convicted on Aug. 6, 2025, of first-degree child abuse resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, and neg…

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by Zak Failla
Hyattsville, MD
Your Community
Twice-Deported Illegal Immigrant Tried To Trade 900 Pounds Of Cocaine In Murder Plot: Feds Twice-Deported Illegal Immigrant Tried To Trade 900 Pounds Of Cocaine In Murder Plot: Feds Twice-Deported Illegal Immigrant Tried To Trade 900 Pounds Of Cocaine In Murder Plot: Feds
Twice-Deported Illegal Immigrant Tried To Trade 900 Pounds Of Cocaine In Murder Plot: Feds Revenge had a price. Nearly a kilogram of cocaine. Federal prosecutors say a twice-deported illegal immigrant tried to use discounted cocaine to hire someone to kill a suspected informant before the alleged murder-for-hire plot was cut short by authorities in Maryland. Now, Frelin Hernandez Guardado, 30, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his role in the scheme, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced on Friday, July 24. According to court records, Hernandez Guardado had already come onto investigators' radar months earlier after illegally selling …

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by Zak Failla
Hyattsville, MD
On Your Side
Maryland Community Saves Beloved Hyattsville Meadery After Owners Feared It Would Close Maryland Community Saves Beloved Hyattsville Meadery After Owners Feared It Would Close Maryland Community Saves Beloved Hyattsville Meadery After Owners Feared It Would Close
Maryland Community Saves Beloved Hyattsville Meadery After Owners Feared It Would Close Less than a month ago, Maryland Meadworks wasn't sure it would survive the year. Today, the beloved Hyattsville gathering place known to many as "Hyattsville's Living Room" is looking ahead to 2027 after an extraordinary outpouring of support from hundreds of neighbors, customers and fellow small business owners who refused to let it disappear. The locally owned meadery launched a GoFundMe campaign in late June after owners Ken Carter and Rumi Matsuyama revealed that soaring expenses had far outpaced sales, leaving them unable to commit to a lease beyond the end of 2026. Without help, they…

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by Zak Failla
Woodbridge, VA
Breaking News
Wrong-Way Driver Killed After Running Red Light, Slamming Into Truck In Woodbridge (DEVELOPING) Wrong-Way Driver Killed After Running Red Light, Slamming Into Truck In Woodbridge (DEVELOPING) Wrong-Way Driver Killed After Running Red Light, Slamming Into Truck In Woodbridge (DEVELOPING)
Wrong-Way Driver Killed After Running Red Light, Slamming Into Truck In Woodbridge (Developing) A wrong-way drive through a red light ended in a deadly crash on a Virginia roadway overnight, police say. The fatal wreck happened around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, July 24, along Prince William Parkway in Woodbridge, where investigators say a 26-year-old driver barreled through a red light before crossing into oncoming lanes and crashing into a parked highway safety truck. Byron Ezequiel Guerrero, of Woodbridge, was behind the wheel of a 2012 Nissan Altima traveling westbound on Prince William Parkway near Minnieville Road when he continued through the red light, according to the Prince William…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Fast-Moving Electrical Fire Forces Silver Spring Family, Cat From Home In Middle Of The Night Fast-Moving Electrical Fire Forces Silver Spring Family, Cat From Home In Middle Of The Night Fast-Moving Electrical Fire Forces Silver Spring Family, Cat From Home In Middle Of The Night
Fast-Moving Electrical Fire Forces Silver Spring Family, Cat From Home In Middle Of The Night A middle-of-the-night electrical fire forced two Maryland residents and their cat to flee their home with little time to spare. Firefighters were dispatched at 12:38 a.m. on Friday, July 24, to the 1100 block of Tiffany Road in Silver Spring, where they found flames burning on the first floor of a single-family home, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service officials. Crews quickly went to work attacking the fire, bringing it under control before it spread further through the house. The two adults living in the home escaped safely along with their cat.  No injuries were…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Your Community
Montgomery Officials Push Back After Potomac River ICE Incident, Clarify County's Role Montgomery Officials Push Back After Potomac River ICE Incident, Clarify County's Role Montgomery Officials Push Back After Potomac River ICE Incident, Clarify County's Role
Montgomery Officials Push Back After Potomac River ICE Incident, Clarify County's Role Montgomery County leaders are pushing back after a dramatic ICE operation along the Clara Barton Parkway ended with multiple people in the Potomac River, making one thing clear: County police and firefighters were there to save lives, not help make arrests. In a joint statement released on Thursday, July 23, County Executive Marc Elrich and County Council President Natali Fani-González said the chaos that unfolded near Lock 7 the day before has fueled fear in the community and stressed that Montgomery County agencies did not participate in federal immigration enforcement. "Yesterday's incid…

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by Zak Failla
Severna Park, MD
Breaking News
Diesel Spill, Jackknifed Tractor-Trailer Snarl Traffic On Route 2 In Severna Park (PHOTOS) Diesel Spill, Jackknifed Tractor-Trailer Snarl Traffic On Route 2 In Severna Park (PHOTOS) Diesel Spill, Jackknifed Tractor-Trailer Snarl Traffic On Route 2 In Severna Park (PHOTOS)
Diesel Spill, Jackknifed Tractor-Trailer Snarl Traffic On Route 2 In Severna Park (Photos) Drivers in Maryland faced significant delays on Friday, July 24, after a tractor-trailer jackknifed in the median along Route 2 in Severna Park, spilling diesel fuel across the roadway. The crash happened near Ritchie Court, where crews with the Maryland Department of the Environment's Emergency Response Division were dispatched to contain the fuel spill while towing crews worked to remove the disabled truck. MD Environment Photos from the scene show the tractor separated from the roadway with its cab heavily damaged and a mangled diesel tank lying nearby after the impact. MD Environme…

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by Zak Failla
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