Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

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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

Kingstowne-Franconia, VA
Breaking News
Gas-Fed Franconia Townhouse Blaze Leaves Young Marine Family Starting From Scratch Gas-Fed Franconia Townhouse Blaze Leaves Young Marine Family Starting From Scratch Gas-Fed Franconia Townhouse Blaze Leaves Young Marine Family Starting From Scratch
Gas-Fed Franconia Townhouse Blaze Leaves Young Marine Family Starting From Scratch The gas-fed inferno that ripped through a row of Franconia townhomes earlier this week didn’t just leave scorched walls and collapsed roofs behind — it left a young military family starting over from nothing. Evgenia and Christopher Burkard were among the residents displaced after a two-alarm townhouse fire tore through the 6500 block of Gladys May Lane in the Franconia area on Sunday, Feb. 1, loved ones said. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue crews were called to the scene around 9:09 p.m., when an end-unit townhouse erupted in flames, and the fire quickly spread to neighboring homes, officia…

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by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Your Community
Child Sex Predator Freed Early In Maryland Snatched By ICE After Release Child Sex Predator Freed Early In Maryland Snatched By ICE After Release Child Sex Predator Freed Early In Maryland Snatched By ICE After Release
Child Sex Predator Freed Early In Maryland Snatched By ICE After Release A convicted child sex predator who was supposed to spend decades behind bars was released early in Maryland — and ICE was waiting. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Anthony Rodriguez-Gregorio, a Guatemalan national with a final order of removal, after he was released from a Maryland prison just over a year into a 25-year sentence, ICE said. Rodriguez-Gregorio was convicted in 2024 of sexually assaulting a child he was babysitting, ICE said. Despite being sentenced to 25 years, the agency said he was released from custody after serving just over one year. ICE Baltimor…

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by Zak Failla
Pasadena-Lake Shore, MD
Breaking News
Pasadena Man Left Gun Accessible To Minor Before Classroom Gun Incident, Police Say (UPDATED) Pasadena Man Left Gun Accessible To Minor Before Classroom Gun Incident, Police Say (UPDATED) Pasadena Man Left Gun Accessible To Minor Before Classroom Gun Incident, Police Say (UPDATED)
Pasadena Man Left Gun Accessible To Minor Before Classroom Gun Incident, Police Say (Updated) A 34-year-old man has been charged after an elementary school student in Maryland was seriously injured when a gun went off in a classroom. Officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department were called early on Wednesday, Feb. 4 to Freetown Elementary School in Glen Burnie, where there were reports of an accidental discharge of a firearm. According to the department, the child with the weapon injured his hand when the gun went off. Investigators noted that there were other students in the classroom when the firearm discharged. No other injuries were reported. It was later determined…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Loaded Gun, Stolen Car, Crash: DC Man’s Wild Maryland Beltway Run Ends In Cuffs Loaded Gun, Stolen Car, Crash: DC Man’s Wild Maryland Beltway Run Ends In Cuffs Loaded Gun, Stolen Car, Crash: DC Man’s Wild Maryland Beltway Run Ends In Cuffs
Loaded Gun, Stolen Car, Crash: DC Man’s Wild Maryland Beltway Run Ends In Cuffs Not such a smooth criminal. A reckless run on the Capital Beltway ended in twisted metal, a loaded handgun, and a set of cuffs after a DC man crashed into three vehicles while trying to outrun a Maryland State Police traffic stop, authorities said. Maryland State Police arrested Jeremiah David Fairfax, 23, of Washington, DC, after troopers say he fled a stop on I-495 in Prince George’s County and caused a chain-reaction crash before bolting from the scene on foot. It was all for naught. The action unfolded shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, when a trooper from the College Park Barr…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
I-95 Chase, Trooper Shootout, Back-Seat Killing Ends With Guilty Verdict In Virginia I-95 Chase, Trooper Shootout, Back-Seat Killing Ends With Guilty Verdict In Virginia I-95 Chase, Trooper Shootout, Back-Seat Killing Ends With Guilty Verdict In Virginia
I-95 Chase, Trooper Shootout, Back-Seat Killing Ends With Guilty Verdict In Virginia What started as a missing person's report in upstate New York before a high-speed pursuit through Maryland, Virginia, and a police shootout ended with a man found guilty of murder, authorities announced. A Prince William County jury delivered a sweeping guilty verdict in a brutal kidnapping and homicide that began in Maryland, tore down Virginia highways, and resulted in gunfire with state troopers — leaving a woman dead in the back seat of a fleeing vehicle. Michael C. Davis, 38, was found guilty on Wednesday, Feb. 4, in connection with the April 5, 2023, kidnapping and murder of Tati…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
On Your Side
Peruvian Favorite The Nibbler Shuts Dining Room, Pivots To Takeout, Catering In Gaithersburg Peruvian Favorite The Nibbler Shuts Dining Room, Pivots To Takeout, Catering In Gaithersburg Peruvian Favorite The Nibbler Shuts Dining Room, Pivots To Takeout, Catering In Gaithersburg
Peruvian Favorite The Nibbler Shuts Dining Room, Pivots To Takeout, Catering In Gaithersburg One of Maryland's go-to Peruvian comfort food spots has quietly flipped the script. The Nibbler has permanently closed its brick-and-mortar location in Gaithersburg this week — but fans aren’t losing the food they love, the restaurant announced. Instead of disappearing, The Nibbler is pivoting hard, ditching dine-in service and transforming into a catering-and-takeout-only operation, according to a message shared with customers. The restaurant said the sudden closure over the past few days was part of a “new transformation,” confirming the Gaithersburg location will not reopen as a sit-dow…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Silver Alert Issued For Manuel De Jesus Marquez, 83, Missing In Silver Spring Silver Alert Issued For Manuel De Jesus Marquez, 83, Missing In Silver Spring Silver Alert Issued For Manuel De Jesus Marquez, 83, Missing In Silver Spring
Silver Alert Issued For Manuel De Jesus Marquez, 83, Missing In Silver Spring Authorities have issued a Silver Alert for an 83-year-old man who went missing Wednesday morning in Maryland. Manuel De Jesus Marquez was last seen around 8 a.m. on February 4, walking in the 1800 block of Arcola Avenue in Silver Spring, according to Montgomery County police. Marquez is described as being 5 feet tall, weighing 120 pounds, with brown eyes and white hair. He is currently clean-shaven. Police said he was last seen wearing a black jacket, blue jeans, blue shoes, and a red baseball hat. Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department’s 4th District Investigative Se…

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by Zak Failla
Montgomery Village, MD
On Your Side
'OPEN' Sign Still On After SUV Crashes Through Maryland Sushi Restaurant (PHOTOS) 'OPEN' Sign Still On After SUV Crashes Through Maryland Sushi Restaurant (PHOTOS) 'OPEN' Sign Still On After SUV Crashes Through Maryland Sushi Restaurant (PHOTOS)
'Open' Sign Still On After SUV Crashes Through Maryland Sushi Restaurant (Photos) Lunch plans at a popular Maryland shopping center came to a screeching halt when an SUV plowed through the front of a Japanese restaurant, leaving behind shattered glass and broken brick. First responders were called to the 19200 block of Montgomery Village Avenue near Centerway Road shortly before 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, when a driver accidentally crashed through the front of a Kobe Japan restaurant, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue officials said. Photos from the scene tell the story better than words ever could. Twitter/@mcfrsPIO A gray SUV was left perched halfway inside t…

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by Zak Failla
West Springfield, VA
Breaking News
Two Dogs Dead After Basement Fire Rips Through West Springfield Townhouse Two Dogs Dead After Basement Fire Rips Through West Springfield Townhouse Two Dogs Dead After Basement Fire Rips Through West Springfield Townhouse
Two Dogs Dead After Basement Fire Rips Through West Springfield Townhouse Two dogs died after firefighters battled a basement fire that tore through a Virginia townhouse on Wednesday morning, officials said. Crews from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department rushed to the 5800 block of Rexford Drive in West Springfield on Wednesday, February 5, shortly after 10 a.m., after receiving reports of a fire in a middle-unit townhouse, the department said. Upon arrival, firefighters found smoke coming from the roofline and located an active fire in the basement of the home, officials said. The fire was brought under control before noon. During the response, firefi…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Honduran National Convicted Of Brutal Sexual Assault Deported After Virginia Prison Term Honduran National Convicted Of Brutal Sexual Assault Deported After Virginia Prison Term Honduran National Convicted Of Brutal Sexual Assault Deported After Virginia Prison Term
Honduran National Convicted Of Brutal Sexual Assault Deported After Virginia Prison Term A Honduran national convicted of violently sexually assaulting a woman was deported after completing a 20-year prison sentence, federal immigration officials announced. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Melbin Ramos-Orellana, a Honduran national convicted of sexual assault, after arresting him upon his release from prison in Chatham on Thursday, Feb. 5, ICE said. ICE said Ramos-Orellana was sentenced to 20 years in prison for forcefully sodomizing a woman against her will. Federal officials said Ramos-Orellana had illegally entered the United States twice before the sexual as…

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by Zak Failla
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