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

Fredericksburg, VA
Obituaries
Beloved ‘Beach Blaster’ Steven Duke Dies Unexpectedly In Virginia Leaving Community Crestfallen Beloved ‘Beach Blaster’ Steven Duke Dies Unexpectedly In Virginia Leaving Community Crestfallen Beloved ‘Beach Blaster’ Steven Duke Dies Unexpectedly In Virginia Leaving Community Crestfallen
Beloved ‘Beach Blaster’ Steven Duke Dies Unexpectedly In Virginia Leaving Community Crestfallen Ocean View lost one of its brightest lights this week.  Steven Eugene Duke — Capt. Duke, the Beach Blaster, the guy who could fill a room, command a mic, and make a whole community feel like family — died unexpectedly in Virginia, his loved ones announced.  The hole he leaves behind is already impossible to miss. His daughter, Nicolette Duke, shared the news with the same heartbreak the Ocean View community has been echoing ever since.  “Yesterday, we lost our father unexpectedly,” she said. Duke wrote that he “dedicated over 20 years to the Sheriff’s Office as a Captain an…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
‘Shoplifting’ Call Explodes Into Major Arlington Drug Bust After Cops See What's Inside Car: PD ‘Shoplifting’ Call Explodes Into Major Arlington Drug Bust After Cops See What's Inside Car: PD ‘Shoplifting’ Call Explodes Into Major Arlington Drug Bust After Cops See What's Inside Car: PD
‘Shoplifting’ Call Explodes Into Major Arlington Drug Bust After Cops See What's Inside Car: PD A routine shoplifting call in Virginia turned into a massive drug and contraband bust after officers pulled over a suspect vehicle in Virginia and found it stuffed with paraphernalia, pills, ammo, and stolen merchandise, police said. Officers working a retail-theft detail were first alerted around 4:25 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, when a shoplifting suspect fled in a vehicle near Army Navy Drive, according to the Arlington Police Department. A BOLO was issued, and within minutes an officer spotted the car on South Joyce Street and made the stop. What happened next escalated quickly. Police said …

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by Zak Failla
Chesapeake City, MD
Breaking News
$1.5M Calvert Fire Levels 14 Apartments, Displaces 25 Residents In Sunrise Inferno (UPDATED) $1.5M Calvert Fire Levels 14 Apartments, Displaces 25 Residents In Sunrise Inferno (UPDATED) $1.5M Calvert Fire Levels 14 Apartments, Displaces 25 Residents In Sunrise Inferno (UPDATED)
$1.5M Calvert Fire Levels 14 Apartments, Displaces 25 Residents In Sunrise Inferno (Updated) A $1.5 million fire tore through a Maryland apartment building before sunrise Monday, leveling 14 apartments and forcing about 25 residents out of their homes as flames shot across the waterfront sky. Fire crews were dispatched shortly after 6:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 17, to the 3900 block of Gordon Stinnett Avenue in Chesapeake Beach, where they arrived to find the courtyard fully involved and flames already chewing through the attic, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office. What unfolded was a full-scale firestorm. The Calvert County fire. Calvert County Sheriff Pho…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
DC Mom Battles Rare Aggressive Breast Cancer As Support Surges: ‘Stand With Dafne’ DC Mom Battles Rare Aggressive Breast Cancer As Support Surges: ‘Stand With Dafne’ DC Mom Battles Rare Aggressive Breast Cancer As Support Surges: ‘Stand With Dafne’
DC Mom Battles Rare Aggressive Breast Cancer As Support Surges: ‘Stand With Dafne’ A mother of two in DC is fighting for her life after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer, and her community is rallying behind her as medical bills and missed work begin piling up. The Arias family is asking for prayers, support, and strength as a young mother begins treatment for triple-negative breast cancer, according to a fundraiser created to help them in their fight. The GoFundMe, called “Stand with Dafne in Her Battle with Breast Cancer,” says she is a wife, a mother to two young daughters and a dedicated elementary school employee whose “warmth and compa…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Vet Learns Home Is Burning While Treating Pets On Her Birthday Virginia Vet Learns Home Is Burning While Treating Pets On Her Birthday Virginia Vet Learns Home Is Burning While Treating Pets On Her Birthday
Virginia Vet Learns Home Is Burning While Treating Pets On Her Birthday On the same afternoon she was treating other people’s pets — on her birthday — a Virginia veterinarian got the call no one expects: her home was on fire. Dr. Cady Johnston, an urgent care veterinarian at Summit Veterinary Care in Fairfax, was midway through her shift when her world “was turned upside down,” according to friend Morgan Guiffre, who described the moment in a fundraiser launched for the family. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue crews raced to the scene on Friday, Nov. 14, and got the flames under control quickly at the doctor's home, but the damage was already done. The home is u…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Thieves Turn Fairfax ATM Into Cash Spigot, Walk Off With $175K In High-Tech Heist, Police Say Thieves Turn Fairfax ATM Into Cash Spigot, Walk Off With $175K In High-Tech Heist, Police Say Thieves Turn Fairfax ATM Into Cash Spigot, Walk Off With $175K In High-Tech Heist, Police Say
Thieves Turn Fairfax ATM Into Cash Spigot, Walk Off With $175K In High-Tech Heist, Police Say A crew of high-tech thieves turned a Virginia ATM into a late-night cash geyser, walking away with $175,000 after cracking open the machine, filming themselves, and forcing it to spit out bills without ever inserting a card, according to Fairfax County Police. Detectives say the group hit the Apple Federal Credit Union ATM on Members Way near Fair Oaks three separate times in one night, using a scheme known as ATM jackpotting — a cyber-physical attack that makes a machine “rapidly dispense cash on command,” similar to hitting a slot machine jackpot. Police released images showing the suspec…

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by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Breaking News
Florida Man Sparks Chaos In Leesburg After Waving Gun Outside Business, Cops Say Florida Man Sparks Chaos In Leesburg After Waving Gun Outside Business, Cops Say Florida Man Sparks Chaos In Leesburg After Waving Gun Outside Business, Cops Say
Florida Man Sparks Chaos In Leesburg After Waving Gun Outside Business, Cops Say A Florida man learned the hard way that drunkenly waving a handgun in front of a business after being escorted out is not tolerated in Virginia. Orlando native Jon Holland, 42, was arrested in Loudoun County following a strange scene that played out at a Leesburg business and landed him behind bars, according to the police. Shortly before 1 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, officers from the Leesburg Police Department were called to the 500 block of E. Market Street, where there were reports of an intoxicated man who brandished a firearm after being escorted out. Upon arrival, it was determined t…

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by Zak Failla
Taneytown-Union Bridge, MD
Breaking News
Taneytown Couple Loses Home And Dog After Fast-Moving Fire Tears Through House Taneytown Couple Loses Home And Dog After Fast-Moving Fire Tears Through House Taneytown Couple Loses Home And Dog After Fast-Moving Fire Tears Through House
Taneytown Couple Loses Home And Dog After Fast-Moving Fire Tears Through House A Maryland couple is facing an unimaginable future after a fire tore through their home, claiming the life of a beloved dog.  Fire crews in Carroll County were called to the one-story home on the 4100 block of McMullen Road in Taneytown around 4:40 PM on Nov. 14, officials said.  The homeowner discovered the fire, and Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Department arrived to find flames coming from the bathroom area. Because the fire moved quickly, firefighters from Pleasant Valley and surrounding companies rushed to the scene. An estimated 65 firefighters worked to get the blaze und…

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
Teen Driven From NJ To Olney, Gagged, Murdered With Machete In MS-13 Hit, Officials Say Teen Driven From NJ To Olney, Gagged, Murdered With Machete In MS-13 Hit, Officials Say Teen Driven From NJ To Olney, Gagged, Murdered With Machete In MS-13 Hit, Officials Say
Teen Driven From NJ To Olney, Gagged, Murdered With Machete In MS-13 Hit, Officials Say A teenager who was driven from New Jersey to Maryland, marched into the woods, gagged, and hacked to death with a machete at the direction of MS-13 — was found four months later in a shallow grave, according to Montgomery County prosecutors. Now her perpetrators are facing justice. In Montgomery County, a judge has convicted 24-year-old Iris Yudella Alonzo-Salgado for her role in the murder of 18-year-old Rosa Sanchez Merino, whose grisly death made national headlines. Alonzo-Salgado is one of four charged in connection with the death of the teen in May 2023. According to court documents,…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Officer Killed In Violent Inmate Attack Inside State Prison, VADOC Says Virginia Officer Killed In Violent Inmate Attack Inside State Prison, VADOC Says Virginia Officer Killed In Violent Inmate Attack Inside State Prison, VADOC Says
Virginia Officer Killed In Violent Inmate Attack Inside State Prison, Vadoc Says A Virginia corrections officer was killed Monday morning in a violent attack inside River North Correctional Center, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections. Officers were called around 7:53 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 17, to the state prison in Independence, where an inmate attacked two staff members, officials said. One officer was rushed to a local hospital and pronounced dead. A second officer was also assaulted and taken for outside medical treatment, according to VADOC. State officials said the prison remained secure after the attack. “Our agency and the entire Commonwealth are…

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by Zak Failla
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