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

Towson, MD

Breaking News

Police Activity Shuts Down I-695 Outer Loop In Maryland As Traffic Backs Up (Developing) The Beltway came to a standstill in Maryland on Wednesday afternoon. All three travel lanes of the I-695 Outer Loop were shut down in Baltimore County shortly after 2 p.m. on Sept. 2 due to police activity, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation. The incident was reported shortly before 2:15 p.m. past Exit 11A for I-95, near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. All three Outer Loop travel lanes were closed, along with both shoulders and the right exit ramp, according to the alert. The Inner Loop remained open. Traffic cameras showed a long line of vehicles backed up behind t…

by Zak Failla

09/02/2026

Taneytown-Union Bridge, MD

Your Community

Dog Kills Aggressive Raccoon That Tests Positive For Rabies In Taneytown, Officials Say This dog picked a fight with the wrong raccoon. An aggressive raccoon killed by a dog in Maryland later tested positive for rabies, prompting health officials to warn that other pets or people may have encountered the infected animal before its death. Carroll County Animal Control was called to the area near York Street and the Route 140 crossing in Taneytown on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 27, after the dog killed the raccoon, according to the county Health Department. Testing later confirmed the raccoon was rabid. Now health officials are trying to determine whether anyone else cross…

by Zak Failla

09/02/2026

Fredericksburg, VA

Breaking News

Oily Rags Spontaneously Combust, Spark Fredericksburg House Fire: Officials No match. No candle. No electrical spark. A pile of oily rags was enough to ignite a Virginia house fire on Sunday morning, according to fire officials. The flames broke out shortly after 7 a.m. on Aug. 31 at an occupied home in the 1200 block of Stafford Avenue in Fredericksburg, prompting a response from city firefighters and crews from Spotsylvania and Stafford counties. Everyone inside managed to get out on their own before firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported, and a secondary search confirmed nobody remained inside. The fire in Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg Fi…

by Zak Failla

09/02/2026

Triangle-Dumfries, VA

Breaking News

Man Who Followed 15-Year-Old Through Dumfries Target Arrested At Manassas Home: Police He didn't stay unidentified for long. One day after a 15-year-old girl was followed through a Virginia Target by a man who exposed himself to her, police say they tracked their suspect to his home. Joel Robert Stevenson, 29, of Manassas, was arrested at his home on Tuesday, Sept. 1, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Stevenson is accused of following the teen through the Target at Fortuna Center Plaza in Dumfries shortly before 3 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 31. Investigators say the girl was inside the store with acquaintances when she noticed a man she didn't know. Then …

by Zak Failla

09/02/2026

Arlington, VA

Breaking News

Forget Walter White: ‘BarbaraWhite’ Drug Case Began With Fatal Arlington Overdose The name sounded more like a “Breaking Bad” knockoff than an alleged darknet drug operation. Two Florida brothers accused of operating under the moniker “BarbaraWhite” were arrested after a fatal overdose in Virginia sparked a federal investigation, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. The investigation began following a fatal overdose in Arlington, prosecutors said. What investigators say they ultimately uncovered stretched hundreds of miles south to Jacksonville. Vladislav Chernyshov, 35, and his younger brother, Stanislav Chernyshov, 30, allegedly …

by Zak Failla

09/02/2026

Alexandria, VA

Breaking News

Reported Shooting At Virginia Elementary School Prompts Evacuation, Lockdowns (Developing) Cops flocked to an elementary school in Virginia after a shooting was reported Wednesday morning. Federal agents joined local and state authorities at Westwood Hills Elementary School in Waynesboro on Wednesday, Sept. 2, after what the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives described as a "reported shooting incident." The emergency unfolded Wednesday morning at the Rosser Avenue school, prompting a massive law enforcement response and the evacuation of students and staff. By 10:30 a.m., the Augusta County Sheriff's Office said the incident had been "contained and secured" and …

by Zak Failla

09/02/2026

Lusby, MD

Obituaries

'So Happy, So Innocent, So Small': Maryland Family Mourns Ezra Oliva-McMillan A Maryland family is facing the unimaginable after losing one of its smallest members. Ezra Davon Oliva-McMillan died on Thursday, Aug. 27, leaving behind a mother struggling to find the words, a father mourning his "happiest little man in the world," and a big sister who was rarely seen without him. The Lusby family is now raising money to lay Ezra to rest as tributes pour in for a little boy remembered for a smile that came easily and a laugh that was impossible to miss. "He was so happy, so innocent, so small," his mother, Sanaa Oliva, wrote after her son's death. "He was my everything.…

by Zak Failla

09/02/2026

Lexington Park, MD

Breaking News

Detectives Watched Maryland Home For A Month Before Moving In On Suspects: Sheriff A monthlong drug investigation came crashing through the door at a Maryland home. Detectives executed a search warrant on Thursday, Aug. 27, at a residence in the 4800 block of Cardinal Drive in Wicomico County following an investigation into suspected drug distribution and stolen property, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office. The investigation centered on Christin Donaway and Jordan Kirn, who detectives had been investigating over the previous month for the suspected distribution of controlled dangerous substances throughout the county. Investigators were also looking into t…

by Zak Failla

09/01/2026

Annapolis, MD

Breaking News

31-Year Maryland Police Veteran Charged With Rape, Sex Abuse Of Minor: Police A 31-year police veteran is now accused of rape and child sex abuse in Maryland. Anne Arundel County Police Sgt. James Shoults was charged on Monday, Aug. 31, with second-degree rape, sex abuse of a minor, second-degree child abuse and related offenses, according to the department. The charges came more than a month after Maryland State Police opened a criminal investigation into Shoults. Anne Arundel County police said they were notified about the investigation on July 20 and initially placed Shoults on administrative suspension with pay. That changed Monday. After a warrant was issued …

by Zak Failla

09/01/2026

Jessup, MD

Breaking News

'Finally Back Home': Jessup Dad Released After ICE Detention Upended Son's Army Milestone Israel Velasco Ramirez was supposed to spend Sunday proudly pinning a new rank onto his son's shoulder. Instead, the longtime Maryland resident was in ICE custody while his son became an officer in the Army National Guard without him there. Ramirez was detained on Saturday, Aug. 22, while sitting in his truck in a Jessup parking lot waiting for a coworker, according to his son, Jose Velasco. On Tuesday, Sept. 1, the Elkridge family got the news it had spent more than a week waiting for. Ramirez was released and back home. "My dad is finally back home with us," Jose announced on Facebook.…

by Zak Failla

09/01/2026

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