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

Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
School Bus Driver Dies After Crashing Into Utility Pole In Montgomery County (UPDATED) School Bus Driver Dies After Crashing Into Utility Pole In Montgomery County (UPDATED) School Bus Driver Dies After Crashing Into Utility Pole In Montgomery County (UPDATED)
School Bus Driver Dies After Crashing Into Utility Pole In Montgomery County (Updated) A routine Tuesday afternoon took a deadly turn on a Maryland roadway. A school bus driver died after crashing into a utility pole near Central Avenue and Route 355 in Montgomery County shortly after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, police said. First responders were called to the area at approximately 3:04 p.m. following reports of the crash. There were no students on board the bus when it struck the pole, according to police. Less than an hour later, investigators confirmed that the driver had been pronounced dead. Police said the death is being handled as a medical emergency. The driver's i…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Sisters Seriously Injured In Virginia Four-Wheeler Crash As Community Steps Up For Family Of 8 Sisters Seriously Injured In Virginia Four-Wheeler Crash As Community Steps Up For Family Of 8 Sisters Seriously Injured In Virginia Four-Wheeler Crash As Community Steps Up For Family Of 8
Sisters Seriously Injured In Virginia Four-Wheeler Crash As Community Steps Up For Family Of 8 One moment changed everything for a Virginia family of eight. On Tuesday, Aug. 18, sisters Blakeslee and Abbi Gehrke, the two oldest children in the family, were involved in a four-wheeler crash that left both injured and sent Abbi to the hospital by air for emergency treatment. Blakeslee was treated and released later that night, but the effects of the crash have lingered. She has been struggling with mobility in her right arm and is expected to meet with an orthopedic surgeon to determine whether another procedure may be necessary, according to family friend Holly Duncan. For Abbi, the …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Suitland, MD
Breaking News
Temple Hills Man, 2-Year Police Veteran ID'd After Deadly Suitland Encounter: AG Temple Hills Man, 2-Year Police Veteran ID'd After Deadly Suitland Encounter: AG Temple Hills Man, 2-Year Police Veteran ID'd After Deadly Suitland Encounter: AG
Temple Hills Man, 2-Year Police Veteran ID'd After Deadly Suitland Encounter: AG A deadly late-night encounter in Maryland now has two names attached to it. Tawfiq Abdul Haqq, a 33-year-old Temple Hills resident, was killed shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, during a police-involved shooting in the 4500 block of Reamy Drive in Suitland, according to the Maryland Attorney General's Office. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, investigators identified the Prince George's County Police officer involved as Corbin Davis, a two-year veteran of the department. Davis is assigned to the department's District 4 Special Assignment Team, officials said. Exactly what led to the deadly e…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Breaking News
Firefighters Cut Apart Pickup After 2 Vehicles Crash Down Bel Air Embankment (PHOTOS) Firefighters Cut Apart Pickup After 2 Vehicles Crash Down Bel Air Embankment (PHOTOS) Firefighters Cut Apart Pickup After 2 Vehicles Crash Down Bel Air Embankment (PHOTOS)
Firefighters Cut Apart Pickup After 2 Vehicles Crash Down Bel Air Embankment (Photos) A violent two-vehicle crash sent both vehicles careening down an embankment in Maryland, leaving one person trapped and two hospitalized. First responders were called at around 10:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, to the crash near Route 1 and Kalmia Road, according to the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company. When crews arrived, they found both vehicles off the roadway and down the embankment, including a pickup truck with one person trapped inside. The crash in Harford County. Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company Firefighters first stabilized both vehicles before turning their attention to th…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Man Wanted For Sexually Assaulting Woodbridge Food Lion Employee Nabbed: Police Man Wanted For Sexually Assaulting Woodbridge Food Lion Employee Nabbed: Police Man Wanted For Sexually Assaulting Woodbridge Food Lion Employee Nabbed: Police
Man Wanted For Sexually Assaulting Woodbridge Food Lion Employee Nabbed: Police A man wanted for sexually assaulting an employee at a Virginia grocery store has been tracked down and apprehended. Woodbridge resident Matthew Stephen Porcelli, 41, was arrested over the weekend for allegedly touching a woman inappropriately earlier this month, according to Prince William County Police. Officers were called to the Food Lion on Dillingham Square in Woodbridge at 9:09 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20, after a 35-year-old employee reported being sexually assaulted inside the store. Investigators say the woman was working when she was approached by a man later identified as Porcelli…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Your Community
Maryland, Virginia Have Some Hustle, But These States Apparently Work Even Harder Maryland, Virginia Have Some Hustle, But These States Apparently Work Even Harder Maryland, Virginia Have Some Hustle, But These States Apparently Work Even Harder
Maryland, Virginia Have Some Hustle, But These States Apparently Work Even Harder Maryland and Virginia apparently aren't afraid to put in the work. A new WalletHub ranking put Maryland at No. 14 among the hardest-working states in America, while neighboring Virginia came even closer to cracking the top 10 at No. 11. Turns out, the DMV has some hustle. WalletHub compared all 50 states using 10 measures ranging from average workweek hours and employment rates to unused vacation time, second jobs, commute times and how much leisure time residents get each day. Maryland finished with a score of 50.38, just three spots behind Virginia, which posted a 51.89. But how t…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
College Park, MD
Breaking News
Teacher Of The Year To ICE Custody: Nearly $10K Raised To Bring UMD Instructor Home Teacher Of The Year To ICE Custody: Nearly $10K Raised To Bring UMD Instructor Home Teacher Of The Year To ICE Custody: Nearly $10K Raised To Bring UMD Instructor Home
Teacher Of The Year To ICE Custody: Nearly $10K Raised To Bring UMD Instructor Home A Maryland teacher went from accepting one of his profession’s highest honors to sitting in ICE custody hundreds of miles from his family. More than a month after University of Maryland School of Pharmacy instructor Dr. Berhanu Kibret was detained at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on July 21, supporters are rallying to help the husband and father of two fight for his release. A GoFundMe launched for Kibret's legal defense had raised $9,523 of its $15,000 goal from 70 donations as of Tuesday, Aug. 25. The money is intended to help cover immigration attorney fees, court costs, bond-…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Capitol Heights-District Heights, MD
Breaking News
Capitol Heights Murder Suspect Captured Hundreds Of Miles Away Months After Deadly Shooting Capitol Heights Murder Suspect Captured Hundreds Of Miles Away Months After Deadly Shooting Capitol Heights Murder Suspect Captured Hundreds Of Miles Away Months After Deadly Shooting
Capitol Heights Murder Suspect Captured Hundreds Of Miles Away Months After Deadly Shooting Jabari McCoy made it hundreds of miles from home, but he will face justice months after the deadly shooting of David Downs in Maryland.  McCoy, 30, was taken into custody in Colorado in connection with the fatal shooting of Downs, who was killed in February 2026, according to the Prince George's County Police Department. At around 11:20 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 23, officers were called to the 5200 block of Marlboro Pike in Capitol Heights, where they found Downs suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. During the investigation, McCoy was id…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Obituaries
Everything Seemed Fine After Bel Air Dad's Back Surgery, Then Tragedy Struck Everything Seemed Fine After Bel Air Dad's Back Surgery, Then Tragedy Struck Everything Seemed Fine After Bel Air Dad's Back Surgery, Then Tragedy Struck
Everything Seemed Fine After Bel Air Dad's Back Surgery, Then Tragedy Struck A routine back surgery turned tragic for a young Maryland family that suddenly finds itself without its patriotic patriarch. Bel Air resident Matthew Robert Peters went under the knife on Thursday, Aug. 20. Things appeared to go well until the following day. Loved ones say that Peters woke up to do his physical therapy when he suffered a medical emergency and died. He was 38. Peters, a Baltimore native, leaves behind his loving wife of 11 years, Emily, along with their 6-year-old daughter, Grace, and 3-year-old son, Clark. Following his death, Peters was remembered not only as a dot…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Brandywine, MD
Breaking News
Major Crash Shuts Down Crain Highway Near Prince George's-Charles County Line (DEVELOPING) Major Crash Shuts Down Crain Highway Near Prince George's-Charles County Line (DEVELOPING) Major Crash Shuts Down Crain Highway Near Prince George's-Charles County Line (DEVELOPING)
Major Crash Shuts Down Crain Highway Near Prince George's-Charles County Line (Developing) Traffic came to a standstill on one of Southern Maryland's busiest roads Tuesday morning. A crash on Crain Highway near Mattawoman Drive in Charles County shut down all northbound and southbound through lanes shortly before midday on Aug. 25, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation. The collision was reported at approximately 11:13 a.m., with emergency crews responding to the scene. And there wasn't much room for motorists to get around it. All three northbound and all three southbound traffic lanes were closed at Mattawoman Drive, along with multiple turn lanes and shoulde…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Prev Page 70 of 3952 68 69 70 71 72 Next
691 - 700 of 39,516 articles