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

Stafford, VA
Obituaries
He Wanted To Serve: Stafford Fire Recruit, High School Senior Jaycob Hall Dies At 18 He Wanted To Serve: Stafford Fire Recruit, High School Senior Jaycob Hall Dies At 18 He Wanted To Serve: Stafford Fire Recruit, High School Senior Jaycob Hall Dies At 18
He Wanted To Serve: Stafford Fire Recruit, High School Senior Jaycob Hall Dies At 18 A young life marked by service ended far too soon, as a Virginia community said goodbye to 18-year-old firefighter recruit and Stafford High senior Jaycob Hall. Hall, a High School Fire Academy recruit with Stafford County Fire and Rescue, died earlier this week surrounded by family, his parents announced, after suffering severe injuries in a serious traffic crash while off-duty on Saturday, Jan. 10. Before his death, Jaycob was celebrated at Mary Washington Hospital with an Honor Walk, as doctors, nurses, hospital staff, first responders, friends, and loved ones lined the halls, according …

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by Zak Failla
Olney, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Family Starts Over After Olney Fire Destroys Home Months After Daughter’s Death Maryland Family Starts Over After Olney Fire Destroys Home Months After Daughter’s Death Maryland Family Starts Over After Olney Fire Destroys Home Months After Daughter’s Death
Maryland Family Starts Over After Olney Fire Destroys Home Months After Daughter’s Death A Maryland community is helping a beloved family pick up the pieces after their home was destroyed less than two years after losing their daughter to cancer. Bill and Effie Poulakis are "starting from scratch" after a fire tore through their Olney home, leaving them with nothing but the charred clothes on their backs. Shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, first responders in Montgomery County were called to a home on Holly View Court, when a homeowner reported hearing a loud "pop" before smoke began flooding into their home. Dozens of firefighters responded to the home, but not b…

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by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Breaking News
‘Criminals Over Victims’: Harford County Sheriff Blasts Move To End ICE Jail Ties ‘Criminals Over Victims’: Harford County Sheriff Blasts Move To End ICE Jail Ties ‘Criminals Over Victims’: Harford County Sheriff Blasts Move To End ICE Jail Ties
‘Criminals Over Victims’: Harford County Sheriff Blasts Move To End ICE Jail Ties A sheriff in Maryland is warning lawmakers in Annapolis that proposed legislation cutting off local partnerships with federal immigration officials could put criminals ahead of victims and would make Maryland less safe. Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler and members of the Maryland Sheriffs' Association met with legislators in Annapolis on Wednesday to oppose legislation aimed at ending all 287(g) agreements between Maryland sheriff’s offices and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement inside detention centers, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office said. The 287(g) program allows lo…

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by Zak Failla
Walkersville, MD
Breaking News
One Killed, One Airlifted After Head-On Highway Crash In Walkersville: State Police One Killed, One Airlifted After Head-On Highway Crash In Walkersville: State Police One Killed, One Airlifted After Head-On Highway Crash In Walkersville: State Police
One Killed, One Airlifted After Head-On Highway Crash In Walkersville: State Police One driver from Pennsylvania was killed, and another was airlifted to the hospital by state police following a head-on pickup truck crash in Maryland. State Police troopers were called around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 19, where there was a reported crash involving an Adams County man who crossed over the double yellow lines and struck a truck head-on in Frederick County. According to state police, Biglerville, Pennsylvania resident Daniel Price was driving in the northbound lanes of Maryland Route 194, south of Crum Road, when he lost control and crossed into the opposite lanes, causing the…

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by Zak Failla
Jessup, MD
Breaking News
Inmate Found Dead In Jessup Prison With Cellmate Inside At The Time: State Police Inmate Found Dead In Jessup Prison With Cellmate Inside At The Time: State Police Inmate Found Dead In Jessup Prison With Cellmate Inside At The Time: State Police
Inmate Found Dead In Jessup Prison With Cellmate Inside At The Time: State Police Maryland State Police are investigating the death of a state prison inmate who was found unresponsive inside his cell at a correctional facility in Anne Arundel County, officials announced. The inmate, identified as Javon Foster, 38, was serving a sentence at Jessup Correctional Institution, police said. Foster was pronounced dead by emergency medical service personnel and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, according to Maryland State Police. The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit was contacted at 7:25 p.m. on…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Montgomery County Playground Reopens Nearly Two Years After Arson Caused $1 Million In Damage Montgomery County Playground Reopens Nearly Two Years After Arson Caused $1 Million In Damage Montgomery County Playground Reopens Nearly Two Years After Arson Caused $1 Million In Damage
Montgomery County Playground Reopens Nearly Two Years After Arson Caused $1 Million In Damage Nearly two years after a Maryland playground was burned to the ground in a $1 million fire, officials have reopened it to the public. In May 2024, the playground at Greenbriar Local Park in Potomac was set on fire by a group that torched the main area along Glen Road, causing extensive damage. The fire was reported at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, and caused an estimated $1 million in damage.  The MNCPP, Montgomery County Division & @mcfrs are investigating fire at Greenbriar Local Park, located 12525 Glen Rd, Potomac, fire occurred Tue, May 7, 2024, ~10p. OPEN/A…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Mystery Solved After 45 Years: ‘Greenbelt John Doe’ Finally Identified In Maryland Mystery Solved After 45 Years: ‘Greenbelt John Doe’ Finally Identified In Maryland Mystery Solved After 45 Years: ‘Greenbelt John Doe’ Finally Identified In Maryland
Mystery Solved After 45 Years: ‘Greenbelt John Doe’ Finally Identified In Maryland Nearly 45 years after his body was found along a Maryland highway, a young man known only as “Greenbelt John Doe” has finally been identified, bringing long-awaited answers to a family that had not seen him in decades. The unidentified man discovered along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in 1981 has been confirmed as Edward “Eddie” Octavis Devone, a 24-year-old Baltimore native who vanished in the late 1970s, the DNA Doe Project announced. US Park Police detectives recovered the remains of a young Black man wrapped in a blanket alongside a guardrail on Sunday, Aug. 3, 1981, near Greenbelt,…

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by Zak Failla
Aldie, VA
Your Community
Judge Opens Bids For Virginia’s Top Prosecutor After Interim US Attorney Loses Authority Judge Opens Bids For Virginia’s Top Prosecutor After Interim US Attorney Loses Authority Judge Opens Bids For Virginia’s Top Prosecutor After Interim US Attorney Loses Authority
Judge Opens Bids For Virginia’s Top Prosecutor After Interim US Attorney Loses Authority A federal judge in Virginia has opened applications for the region’s top federal prosecutor after the legal clock ran out on the Justice Department’s interim pick, leaving the powerful post officially vacant. Chief US District Judge M. Hannah Lauck entered an order on Tuesday, Jan. 20, directing the court to solicit candidates to serve as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after Lindsey Halligan’s temporary authority expired without Senate confirmation. Halligan was appointed by the attorney general on Sept. 22, 2025, under a federal statute that limits interim US atto…

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by Zak Failla
Temple Hills-Camp Springs, MD
Breaking News
Driver Uncharged After Fatal Temple Hills Hit-Run Crash As Police Recover Vehicle (DEVELOPING) Driver Uncharged After Fatal Temple Hills Hit-Run Crash As Police Recover Vehicle (DEVELOPING) Driver Uncharged After Fatal Temple Hills Hit-Run Crash As Police Recover Vehicle (DEVELOPING)
Driver Uncharged After Fatal Temple Hills Hit-Run Crash As Police Recover Vehicle (Developing) Police have tracked down a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run crash in Maryland, though the driver has yet to face charges, according to authorities. Officers from the Prince George's County Police Department were called around 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 19, to the 3000 block of Branch Avenue in Temple Hills, where there were reports of a pedestrian who had been struck by a driver who fled the area. Police say that responding officers found a man in the parking lot suffering from critical injuries. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he later died. The driver fled. Shortly after the crash,…

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by Zak Failla
Columbia, MD
Breaking News
Final Salute: Funeral Arrangements Set For Howard County Master Firefighter Bernard Arnold Final Salute: Funeral Arrangements Set For Howard County Master Firefighter Bernard Arnold Final Salute: Funeral Arrangements Set For Howard County Master Firefighter Bernard Arnold
Final Salute: Funeral Arrangements Set For Howard County Master Firefighter Bernard Arnold Funeral arrangements have been announced for a longtime Maryland firefighter who spent more than two decades protecting his community before his unexpected death earlier this month. Master Firefighter Bernard Arnold, a 26-year veteran of Howard County Fire & Rescue, died while off duty, officials confirmed on Saturday, Jan. 10. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of Master Firefighter Bernard Arnold while off duty,” the department said. Arnold spent much of his career assigned to Stations 8 and 13, serving the Ellicott City and Glenwood communities, where he…

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by Zak Failla
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