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

Cockeysville-Hunt Valley, MD
Breaking News
Student-Athlete Loses Arm In Maryland Crash, Will Have To Learn To Walk Again, Loved Ones Say Student-Athlete Loses Arm In Maryland Crash, Will Have To Learn To Walk Again, Loved Ones Say Student-Athlete Loses Arm In Maryland Crash, Will Have To Learn To Walk Again, Loved Ones Say
Student-Athlete Loses Arm In Maryland Crash, Will Have To Learn To Walk Again, Loved Ones Say It was supposed to be a normal Friday night for four Maryland teens. They went out to hit some golf balls, grabbed a bite to eat, and were heading home along a narrow, winding road on Friday, May 1, when the driver lost control. Minutes later, everything changed forever for those teens. The driver struck a tree, claiming the life of 18-year-old Ryan Duvall. Three others were critically injured and rushed to area hospitals. Now, Liam O'Donoghue, 16, a Calvert Hall student-athlete known for his skills on the rugby and football field, is facing the fight of his life. The crash left the teen…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Your Community
‘I Am Not Backing Down’: Powerful Virginia Democrat L. Louise Lucas Fires Back After FBI Search ‘I Am Not Backing Down’: Powerful Virginia Democrat L. Louise Lucas Fires Back After FBI Search ‘I Am Not Backing Down’: Powerful Virginia Democrat L. Louise Lucas Fires Back After FBI Search
‘I Am Not Backing Down’: Powerful Virginia Democrat L. Louise Lucas Fires Back After FBI Search One of Virginia’s most powerful Democrats is accusing the Trump administration of trying to “intimidate and silence” political opponents after federal agents searched her office this week. Virginia Senate President pro tempore L. Louise Lucas issued a defiant public response on Wednesday, May 6, hours after reports surfaced that FBI agents had been seen outside her Portsmouth office as part of a federal corruption investigation tied to a Virginia cannabis company. Lucas, a longtime Democratic powerbroker in Virginia politics and close ally of Gov. Abigail Spanberger, suggested the investiga…

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by Zak Failla
Westminster, MD
Breaking News
Sykesville Man Tried Gouging Woman’s Eyes Out During Brutal Domestic Assault: Prosecutors Sykesville Man Tried Gouging Woman’s Eyes Out During Brutal Domestic Assault: Prosecutors Sykesville Man Tried Gouging Woman’s Eyes Out During Brutal Domestic Assault: Prosecutors
Sykesville Man Tried Gouging Woman’s Eyes Out During Brutal Domestic Assault: Prosecutors A Maryland man who violently strangled a woman, slammed her head into a wall, and tried to gouge her eyes out during a domestic assault will face decades in prison. Parkville resident Gregory Long, 43, was convicted following a three-day trial in Carroll County of first-degree assault after he abused a woman in November 2025. On Nov. 16, 2025, deputies from the Carroll County Sheriff's Office were called to investigate a domestic incident in Sykesville involving Long and a woman who suffered critical injuries. According to prosecutors, upon arrival, deputies found the female victim wi…

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by Zak Failla
Prince Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Driver Admitted Huffing Nitrous Oxide Before Calvert County Hit-And-Run, Deputies Say Driver Admitted Huffing Nitrous Oxide Before Calvert County Hit-And-Run, Deputies Say Driver Admitted Huffing Nitrous Oxide Before Calvert County Hit-And-Run, Deputies Say
Driver Admitted Huffing Nitrous Oxide Before Calvert County Hit-And-Run, Deputies Say A hit-and-run in Southern Maryland took a strange turn following a brief police pursuit that ended with a 40-year-old man in custody, according to the Calvert County Sheriff's Office. Great Mills resident Scott Daniel Herndon admitted to inhaling nitrous oxide while driving before a hit-and-run crash in the northbound lanes of Solomons Island Road in Prince Frederick late last month. Deputies say that Herndon struck another vehicle and fled the scene, but was quickly located nearby in the Bank of America parking lot. No injuries were reported. While speaking with Herndon, deputies spotted…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Your Community
DOJ Investigating Fairfax Prosecutor Steve Descano Over Immigration Plea Deal Policies DOJ Investigating Fairfax Prosecutor Steve Descano Over Immigration Plea Deal Policies DOJ Investigating Fairfax Prosecutor Steve Descano Over Immigration Plea Deal Policies
DOJ Investigating Fairfax Prosecutor Steve Descano Over Immigration Plea Deal Policies A federal civil rights investigation has been launched into Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano over allegations that his office may have offered preferential treatment to undocumented immigrants during plea negotiations and charging decisions. The US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, May 6, that its Civil Rights Division is formally investigating policies adopted by Descano’s office in Fairfax County. According to the DOJ, the probe will examine whether the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office discriminated against US citizens “by offering preferential trea…

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by Zak Failla
Dunkirk-Owings, MD
Breaking News
Motorcyclist Looked Back At Deputies Before Leading 100+ MPH Chase In Owings: Sheriff Motorcyclist Looked Back At Deputies Before Leading 100+ MPH Chase In Owings: Sheriff Motorcyclist Looked Back At Deputies Before Leading 100+ MPH Chase In Owings: Sheriff
Motorcyclist Looked Back At Deputies Before Leading 100+ MPH Chase In Owings: Sheriff A speeding motorcyclist did his best to avoid a traffic ticket, but wound up in handcuffs following a high-speed police pursuit in Southern Maryland. Zachary Ryan Pino, 36, is facing serious charges following an early-morning chase after he was spotted speeding and swerving across the double yellow lines on Chesapeake Beach Road in Owings, according to the Calvert County Sheriff's Office. Investigators say Pino was traveling at speeds topping 90 mph before deputies pulled behind him at the intersection of Route 2 and East Chesapeake Beach Road. Then, it was on. It is alleged that Pino&nbs…

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by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Breaking News
Dog Killed, Families Displaced In Two Smoking-Related Fires Hours Apart In Leesburg Dog Killed, Families Displaced In Two Smoking-Related Fires Hours Apart In Leesburg Dog Killed, Families Displaced In Two Smoking-Related Fires Hours Apart In Leesburg
Dog Killed, Families Displaced In Two Smoking-Related Fires Hours Apart In Leesburg A dog was killed, one person was hospitalized, and 14 residents were displaced after two separate fires sparked by improperly discarded smoking materials tore through homes in Virginia within hours of each other, fire officials said. The first fire broke out at approximately 12:21 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5, in the 300 block of Sunset Course Terrace in Leesburg, according to Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. Crews arriving at the townhome community encountered intense flames pouring from both the front and rear of the residence. The fire quickly escalated, prompting officials to call a Rapid Int…

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by Zak Failla
Middletown, MD
Breaking News
Middletown Man Hunted For Victim Before Assaulting, Leaving Woman For Dead At Holiday Party Middletown Man Hunted For Victim Before Assaulting, Leaving Woman For Dead At Holiday Party Middletown Man Hunted For Victim Before Assaulting, Leaving Woman For Dead At Holiday Party
Middletown Man Hunted For Victim Before Assaulting, Leaving Woman For Dead At Holiday Party A 24-year-old man who turned a holiday party at a Maryland distillery into a harrowing ordeal for a woman will spend decades in prison, authorities announced. Middletown resident Trey Rice has been sentenced after strangling and violently sexually assaulting a woman who was found unconscious in the bathroom of the business after going missing from the event. "I was left for dead... He is a danger to all women in our society," his victim said at his sentencing. "My life is changed forever. He robbed me of the peace I once had." The incident was reported on Jan. 14, 2025, when Frederick Coun…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Head-On Crash On Frederick Highway Leaves 7 Hurt, Including 2 Young Children: State Police Head-On Crash On Frederick Highway Leaves 7 Hurt, Including 2 Young Children: State Police Head-On Crash On Frederick Highway Leaves 7 Hurt, Including 2 Young Children: State Police
Head-On Crash On Frederick Highway Leaves 7 Hurt, Including 2 Young Children: State Police Two children were among seven injured in a violent two-vehicle crash in Maryland that required multiple people to be airlifted to area hospitals, according to state police. Shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5, troopers were called to investigate a head-on crash that was reported in Frederick County that left several victims trapped inside mangled vehicles. The crash happened shortly after 8 p.m. on May 5 in the 5900 block of Dickerson Road in Dickerson, where emergency crews from Frederick and Montgomery counties rushed to a chaotic scene involving two heavily damaged vehicles. Two peop…

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by Zak Failla
Laurel, MD
Breaking News
Cinco de Mayo Celebration Turns Violent With Stabbing, Shooting At Laurel Restaurants: Police Cinco de Mayo Celebration Turns Violent With Stabbing, Shooting At Laurel Restaurants: Police Cinco de Mayo Celebration Turns Violent With Stabbing, Shooting At Laurel Restaurants: Police
Cinco de Mayo Celebration Turns Violent With Stabbing, Shooting At Laurel Restaurants: Police One man is behind bars, two are hospitalized, and a fourth is on the run after a pair of bloody incidents during a Cinco de Mayo celebration at a Maryland restaurant on Tuesday night. The Laurel Police Department has released new details as investigators continue probing a domestic stabbing and separate shooting at Amigos Mexican Grill on May 5. Police say Shon Juan Cook Jr., 26, has been charged in connection with a double stabbing reported around 10:30 p.m. at the restaurant in the 13600 block of Baltimore Avenue. In a separate incident later that night outside the neighboring LongHorn S…

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by Zak Failla
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