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
Obituaries
Young DC Father Killed In I-95 Virginia Crash Was 'Hardworking, Full Of Dreams,' Family Says Young DC Father Killed In I-95 Virginia Crash Was 'Hardworking, Full Of Dreams,' Family Says Young DC Father Killed In I-95 Virginia Crash Was 'Hardworking, Full Of Dreams,' Family Says
Young DC Father Killed In I-95 Virginia Crash Was 'Hardworking, Full Of Dreams,' Family Says Diego Murgia Ramos left home Wednesday morning to work hard and provide for his family. By the afternoon, the 23-year-old father was gone. Virginia State Police said Murgia Ramos was killed in a single-vehicle crash on I-95 in Greensville County after his tractor-trailer ran off the road, struck trees, and overturned around 2 p.m. on Nov. 19.  The crash happened near the 12-mile marker at the Route 301 exit, according to troopers. Police said the driver was ejected and died at the scene. No other vehicles were involved. Murgia Ramos’ family is now left shattered, struggling to bring …

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Head-On Crash On Maryland Route 291 Kills 85-Year-Old Man, Injures Two: State Police Head-On Crash On Maryland Route 291 Kills 85-Year-Old Man, Injures Two: State Police Head-On Crash On Maryland Route 291 Kills 85-Year-Old Man, Injures Two: State Police
Head-On Crash On Maryland Route 291 Kills 85-Year-Old Man, Injures Two: State Police An 85-year-old man was killed when his car crossed the center line and slammed head-on into two pickup trucks on a rural Kent County road, according to Maryland State Police. Troopers said Charles Ekstrom, 85, of Suddlersville, was driving a Toyota Camry on Maryland Route 291 when he drifted over the double-yellow line and hit two trucks around 3:45 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, near Maiden Lot Farm Lane. Ekstrom was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. According to investigators, the Camry was heading west when it “crossed the double yellow center line, traveling into the eastbound lane,”…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Weather
Maryland’s First Cold-Related Death Of Winter Confirmed In Frederick As Temperatures Drop Maryland’s First Cold-Related Death Of Winter Confirmed In Frederick As Temperatures Drop Maryland’s First Cold-Related Death Of Winter Confirmed In Frederick As Temperatures Drop
Maryland’s First Cold-Related Death Of Winter Confirmed In Frederick As Temperatures Drop Maryland’s first cold-related death of the winter season has been confirmed in Frederick County, state health officials said Friday, Nov. 21. According to the Maryland Department of Health, the victim was a man between 30 and 40 years old. No other details were released. Officials said the early-season death is a reminder of how quickly cold weather can turn dangerous.  They’re encouraging Maryland residents to limit time outside and bundle up in layers to avoid hypothermia and frostbite. Areas most at risk include the ears, fingertips, toes, cheeks, and the nose. Those who need a wa…

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by Zak Failla
Linganore-New Market, MD
Breaking News
NJ Trucker Whose Partner Was Found Stabbed In New Market Costco Depot Learns Prison Fate NJ Trucker Whose Partner Was Found Stabbed In New Market Costco Depot Learns Prison Fate NJ Trucker Whose Partner Was Found Stabbed In New Market Costco Depot Learns Prison Fate
NJ Trucker Whose Partner Was Found Stabbed In New Market Costco Depot Learns Prison Fate A New Jersey truck driver with a history of domestic violence will spend decades in prison after his partner was found stabbed to death in a tractor-trailer at a Costco Depot in Maryland, authorities announced. Matthew Sidney Watley, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty last month to the murder of his partner, Candice Thompson, in September 2023. Officials say that a strange, ultimately deadly scene played out at the Costco Distribution Center on Intercoastal Drive in New Market shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24…

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by Zak Failla
Annandale, VA
Breaking News
Trooper Hospitalized After Lexus SUV Slams Into Patrol Car On I-66 In Virginia: Police Trooper Hospitalized After Lexus SUV Slams Into Patrol Car On I-66 In Virginia: Police Trooper Hospitalized After Lexus SUV Slams Into Patrol Car On I-66 In Virginia: Police
Trooper Hospitalized After Lexus SUV Slams Into Patrol Car On I-66 In Virginia: Police A Virginia State Police trooper was taken to the hospital after an SUV slammed into his patrol car while he was working a crash on I-66 early Thursday morning, officials said. The crash happened around 6:40 a.m. on Nov. 21 along the eastbound lanes of the Beltway, according to Virginia State Police. Investigators said the trooper was inside his vehicle in the right Express Lane with his emergency lights on.  He was working an earlier crash between a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle that was blocking the left lane of the main lanes and the right lane of the Express Lanes. While…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Gunman Who Pulled Uzi-Style Pistol On Family With Kids Aboard Metrobus Learns Prison Fate DC Gunman Who Pulled Uzi-Style Pistol On Family With Kids Aboard Metrobus Learns Prison Fate DC Gunman Who Pulled Uzi-Style Pistol On Family With Kids Aboard Metrobus Learns Prison Fate
DC Gunman Who Pulled Uzi-Style Pistol On Family With Kids Aboard Metrobus Learns Prison Fate A DC man who pulled out a Uzi-style pistol on a crowded Metrobus and threatened to kill a family with two small children will spend years in prison, federal authorities announced. According to the US Attorney’s Office, 29-year-old Ricardo Rush was sentenced to 60 months in prison after he threatened a man, woman, and their two young children during a violent outburst in March that was caught on camera. Court documents say Rush boarded a WMATA bus shortly before 11:30 a.m. on the 300 block of Ridge Road SE. Four minutes later, the family boarded from the 4800 block of Texas Avenue SE, sittin…

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
Diplomat’s Daughter Convicted Again In Deadly Rockville Stabbing After Retrial, Prosecutors Say Diplomat’s Daughter Convicted Again In Deadly Rockville Stabbing After Retrial, Prosecutors Say Diplomat’s Daughter Convicted Again In Deadly Rockville Stabbing After Retrial, Prosecutors Say
Diplomat’s Daughter Convicted Again In Deadly Rockville Stabbing After Retrial, Prosecutors Say The daughter of a former US ambassador has been convicted — again — for her role in a fatal alcohol-fueled stabbing in 2020. DC resident Sophia Negroponte, 32, the adopted daughter of John Negroponte, has been convicted for the second time in connection with the stabbing death of 24-year-old Yousuf Rasmussen in Montgomery County, the state's attorney's office announced on Thursday, Nov. 20.  This was a retrial. In January of 2024, the Maryland Court of Appeals overturned Negroponte’s original second-degree murder conviction. What started as a fun evening among several friend…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Fairfax County Firefighter With Search Dog ‘Peter Pan’ Promoted To Deputy Chief Fairfax County Firefighter With Search Dog ‘Peter Pan’ Promoted To Deputy Chief Fairfax County Firefighter With Search Dog ‘Peter Pan’ Promoted To Deputy Chief
Fairfax County Firefighter With Search Dog ‘Peter Pan’ Promoted To Deputy Chief Fairfax County Fire & Rescue is promoting one of its longest-serving and most accomplished members.  Fire Chief John Butler announced that Battalion Chief Matthew Cox will become the department’s newest Deputy Chief, effective Saturday, Dec. 13. Cox has spent more than two decades with the department, serving in stations across Fairfax County and taking on leadership roles in operations, administration, and training.  His fire service career began in 1989 as a volunteer with the Virginia Tech Rescue Squad, where he earned his EMT certification. He also worked as an emergency …

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Shelter Boss Stole Nearly $200K From Homeless Women, Kids, Feds Say Virginia Shelter Boss Stole Nearly $200K From Homeless Women, Kids, Feds Say Virginia Shelter Boss Stole Nearly $200K From Homeless Women, Kids, Feds Say
Virginia Shelter Boss Stole Nearly $200K From Homeless Women, Kids, Feds Say A Virginia woman trusted to run a homeless shelter for women and children has admitted to stealing nearly $200,000 in taxpayer funding meant to care for some of Richmond’s most vulnerable residents. 41-year-old Kia A. Player pleaded guilty to wire fraud after investigators uncovered a sweeping scheme that relied on fake invoices, phony vendors, and bogus bills for services that never happened at her shelter, RVA Sister’s Keeper, according to the US Attorney's Office. Court documents say Player was granted nearly $1 million in public funding to operate the inclement weather shelter.&nbs…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
Judge Rules National Guard Patrols In DC Illegal As AG Warns Of ‘Dangerous Precedent’ Judge Rules National Guard Patrols In DC Illegal As AG Warns Of ‘Dangerous Precedent’ Judge Rules National Guard Patrols In DC Illegal As AG Warns Of ‘Dangerous Precedent’
Judge Rules National Guard Patrols In DC Illegal As AG Warns Of ‘Dangerous Precedent’ A federal judge has ruled that the National Guard was illegally deployed in Washington, DC, following months of military patrols across the city, officials announced. US District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the federal government did not have the legal authority to deploy the DC National Guard or out-of-state Guard units for crime-deterrence patrols in the city on Thursday, Nov. 20.  The court granted a preliminary injunction blocking the deployment but stayed the order for 21 days to allow time for appeal. DC Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb said the ruling confirms what the District …

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by Zak Failla
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