Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

FOLLOW ON

Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram

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

National Interest
DC Preservationist Groups Sue Trump Over Bright-White Paint Plan For Eisenhower Building DC Preservationist Groups Sue Trump Over Bright-White Paint Plan For Eisenhower Building DC Preservationist Groups Sue Trump Over Bright-White Paint Plan For Eisenhower Building
DC Preservationist Groups Sue Trump Over Bright-White Paint Plan For Eisenhower Building A preservation law firm with deep roots in Washington is suing President Donald Trump’s administration in federal court, accusing officials of fast-tracking a plan to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building bright white and, in the process, breaking federal environmental and historic preservation laws. Cultural Heritage Partners, based a few blocks from the White House, and the DC Preservation League filed the lawsuit this week in Washington, DC. In the complaint, they say Trump’s plan to “clean, repoint, and repaint” the dark granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Breaking News
Firefighter Hurt As Massive Virginia House Blaze Erupts In Leesburg Neighborhood (DEVELOPING) Firefighter Hurt As Massive Virginia House Blaze Erupts In Leesburg Neighborhood (DEVELOPING) Firefighter Hurt As Massive Virginia House Blaze Erupts In Leesburg Neighborhood (DEVELOPING)
Firefighter Hurt As Massive Virginia House Blaze Erupts In Leesburg Neighborhood (Developing) A firefighter was hospitalized after battling a massive house fire that sent heavy smoke pouring over a Leesburg neighborhood Friday morning, according to Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. Units were dispatched around 11:10 a.m. on Saturday morning to the 19000 block of Kipheart Drive for reports of a structure fire, officials said. Crews arrived to find the home already engulfed in flames. Firefighters shifted to a defensive attack as heavy fire erupted from the structure, according to Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. All occupants were accounted for at the scene. One person was treated for…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Chesapeake City, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man Vanishes On Chesapeake Bay; Empty Boat Found Near Taylor’s Island (DEVELOPING) Maryland Man Vanishes On Chesapeake Bay; Empty Boat Found Near Taylor’s Island (DEVELOPING) Maryland Man Vanishes On Chesapeake Bay; Empty Boat Found Near Taylor’s Island (DEVELOPING)
Maryland Man Vanishes On Chesapeake Bay; Empty Boat Found Near Taylor’s Island (Developing) A search is underway in the Chesapeake Bay after a Maryland man disappeared during a Thursday outing, authorities said. The Maryland Natural Resources Police said officers were dispatched Friday morning, Nov. 14, for a report of an overdue boater last seen operating a white 23-foot center-console vessel out of Chesapeake Beach on Thursday, Nov. 13. The missing man has been identified as Lonnie James Johnson, 65, of Chesapeake Beach, according to Maryland DNR. Police said the unoccupied boat was found Friday morning near Taylor’s Island in Dorchester County after the reporting party tracked…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
National Interest
Ghislaine Maxwell Lawyer Slams Maryland Rep. Raskin For ‘Shocking’ Release Of Privileged Emails Ghislaine Maxwell Lawyer Slams Maryland Rep. Raskin For ‘Shocking’ Release Of Privileged Emails Ghislaine Maxwell Lawyer Slams Maryland Rep. Raskin For ‘Shocking’ Release Of Privileged Emails
Ghislaine Maxwell Lawyer Slams Maryland Rep. Raskin For ‘Shocking’ Release Of Privileged Emails Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney is blasting Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, saying he “improperly” released her privileged prison emails in a move she calls “shocking” and unconstitutional. In a statement issued Friday, Nov. 14, attorney Leah Saffian criticized Raskin — a Democrat from Maryland and Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee — for providing Maxwell’s email correspondence to the media. Saffian said the emails, which were sent through the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ monitored system, were “illegally obtained” and shared with a federal official who then released them publicly. Ac…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Annapolis Shots-Fired Call Leads Cops To Surprising Arsenal Of Guns, Drugs, Police Say Annapolis Shots-Fired Call Leads Cops To Surprising Arsenal Of Guns, Drugs, Police Say Annapolis Shots-Fired Call Leads Cops To Surprising Arsenal Of Guns, Drugs, Police Say
Annapolis Shots-Fired Call Leads Cops To Surprising Arsenal Of Guns, Drugs, Police Say What started as a report of shots fired in Maryland landed a man behind bars after officers uncovered a small arsenal in Anne Arundel County, police say. On Thursday morning, members of the Annapolis Police Department conducted a follow-up investigation into a recent "shots fired" call, which led to the recovery of multiple illegal firearms, assault weapons, and a host of drugs. According to the agency, the investigation began on Monday, Nov. 10, when there were reports of shots being fired that led them to identify 27-year-old resident Juan Ricardo Mackell, who was taken into custody short…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Caregivers Exploited Navy Veteran, Forged Checks, Let Him Waste Away: Feds Virginia Caregivers Exploited Navy Veteran, Forged Checks, Let Him Waste Away: Feds Virginia Caregivers Exploited Navy Veteran, Forged Checks, Let Him Waste Away: Feds
Virginia Caregivers Exploited Navy Veteran, Forged Checks, Let Him Waste Away: Feds A Virginia couple is accused of draining a Navy veteran’s bank account, forging his VA checks, and leaving him in dangerous, filthy conditions — prosecutors say the victim was found confused, injured, and covered in urine and feces. The pai,r who were entrusted with caring for a Navy and Vietnam War veteran, instead exploited him for tens of thousands of dollars while letting his health deteriorate, federal prosecutors said. A grand jury indicted Melissa Diana Simmons, 50, and James Patrick Brown, 59, of Franklin County, on 30 federal counts, including bank fraud, access device fraud, forgi…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Your Community
Virginia Attorney ‘Stymied’ Probe Into Threats Against Trump Adviser: Republican Congressman Virginia Attorney ‘Stymied’ Probe Into Threats Against Trump Adviser: Republican Congressman Virginia Attorney ‘Stymied’ Probe Into Threats Against Trump Adviser: Republican Congressman
Virginia Attorney ‘Stymied’ Probe Into Threats Against Trump Adviser: Republican Congressman Virginia prosecutor accused of blocking investigators in case tied to threats against Trump adviser Stephen Miller — Congress wants answers. A high-profile Northern Virginia prosecutor is facing intense scrutiny from Congress after House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan accused her of undermining an investigation into threats made against former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller and his family. In a sharply worded letter sent this week, Jordan claimed Arlington County and Falls Church Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti “stymied the investigation” into an incident where a loca…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Southern Anne Arundel, MD
Breaking News
Gambrills Man Who Groomed Girl, Reoffended After Prior Conviction Gets Max Prison Term Gambrills Man Who Groomed Girl, Reoffended After Prior Conviction Gets Max Prison Term Gambrills Man Who Groomed Girl, Reoffended After Prior Conviction Gets Max Prison Term
Gambrills Man Who Groomed Girl, Reoffended After Prior Conviction Gets Max Prison Term A Maryland man who groomed young girls and entered into an ongoing relationship with one received the maximum sentence. Christopher Steven McGee, 36, of Gambrills, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree rape involving a child earlier this year, the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office announced on Friday. A probe was launched by police in December 2023 into reported child sex abuse involving McGee, then 34, and the 12-year-old girl, who was her boyfriend's stepfather. Prosecutors said that the investigation revealed a pattern of groomi…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Mother Hailed As Hero After Pulling Daughters From Burning Car Just Before Blast Virginia Mother Hailed As Hero After Pulling Daughters From Burning Car Just Before Blast Virginia Mother Hailed As Hero After Pulling Daughters From Burning Car Just Before Blast
Virginia Mother Hailed As Hero After Pulling Daughters From Burning Car Just Before Blast A Virginia mother is being hailed for her extraordinary courage after a late-October car fire forced her to make split-second decisions that saved both of her young daughters. According to Heather Henderson, Jessie Kelly had been driving home from a trunk-or-treat Halloween event at the Fredericksburg Nats Stadium on Friday, Oct. 24, when everything changed.  Henderson said that Jessie and her two daughters were headed back when they were involved in “a terrible car accident,” followed by a fire that left Jessie fighting to free her children as flames closed in. Henderson said the wom…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
‘How Long You Been Here?’ Spotsylvania Man Gets Life For Hate-Fueled Gas Station Shooting: Feds ‘How Long You Been Here?’ Spotsylvania Man Gets Life For Hate-Fueled Gas Station Shooting: Feds ‘How Long You Been Here?’ Spotsylvania Man Gets Life For Hate-Fueled Gas Station Shooting: Feds
‘How Long You Been Here?’ Spotsylvania Man Gets Life For Hate-Fueled Gas Station Shooting: Feds A man who asked a Latino man how long he had been in the country before gunning him down outside a Virginia gas station due to his race will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Spotsylvania resident Douglas Wayne Cornett was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to two federal hate crime charges, each involving an attempt to kill, and to discharging a firearm during a federal crime of violence, federal authorities announced on Friday. According to court documents, on Feb. 28, 2024, Cornett followed a box truck driven by "O.G.," an adult Latino man, into the Sheetz …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Prev Page 425 of 3978 423 424 425 426 427 Next
4,241 - 4,250 of 39,777 articles