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

Arbutus-Halethorpe, MD
Obituaries
College Was Next For Maryland Teen Before Unexpected Death Left Mom's 'Heart Shattered' College Was Next For Maryland Teen Before Unexpected Death Left Mom's 'Heart Shattered' College Was Next For Maryland Teen Before Unexpected Death Left Mom's 'Heart Shattered'
College Was Next For Maryland Teen Before Unexpected Death Left Mom's 'Heart Shattered' Micah Duberry's family was supposed to be getting ready for his first semester of college, not planning his funeral. The 18-year-old Salisbury native died unexpectedly on Thursday, Aug. 13, just as he was preparing for the next chapter of his life. "My heart is shattered, and I’ll never be the same," his mother posted following his death. "On Thursday, August 13th my Micah James passed. He’s my angel now." Duberry had only recently celebrated another milestone: graduation from Western School of Technology and Environmental Science in Catonsville. Micah Duberry GoFundMe Ph…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Spooked Traveler Clears BWI Customs, Leaves Behind Bags Stuffed With Illegal Substance: CBP Spooked Traveler Clears BWI Customs, Leaves Behind Bags Stuffed With Illegal Substance: CBP Spooked Traveler Clears BWI Customs, Leaves Behind Bags Stuffed With Illegal Substance: CBP
Spooked Traveler Clears BWI Customs, Leaves Behind Bags Stuffed With Illegal Substance: CBP Someone left a whole lot more than luggage behind at a Maryland airport. Five abandoned duffel bags caught the attention of US Customs and Border Protection officers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Tuesday, Aug. 11, after a flight from London cleared the airport. Inside was nearly 331 pounds of what initially looked like tea leaves. It wasn't tea. Field tests identified the leaves as khat, a controlled substance grown primarily in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that is chewed for its amphetamine-like effects, according to CBP. And apparently, the…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Triangle Man Hit, Killed By Lexus, BMW In Dumfries As Honduran Family Hopes To Bring Him Home Triangle Man Hit, Killed By Lexus, BMW In Dumfries As Honduran Family Hopes To Bring Him Home Triangle Man Hit, Killed By Lexus, BMW In Dumfries As Honduran Family Hopes To Bring Him Home
Triangle Man Hit, Killed By Lexus, BMW In Dumfries As Honduran Family Hopes To Bring Him Home A 44-year-old man was struck and killed by two luxury vehicles in Northern Virginia. Now, his family is hoping to send his body home to Honduras. Triangle resident Emmanuel De Jesus Burgos Mejia was struck and killed over the weekend while walking late on Saturday night in Dumfries, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Officers were called around 11:45 p.m. on Aug. 15 to the intersection of Dumfries Road and Fraley Boulevard, where there were reports of a pedestrian who had been struck. Upon arrival, they found Burgos Mejia, who was struck by a 2017 Lexus RX350 t…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Arlington Man Opened Fire On Basketball Court After Argument, Police Say Arlington Man Opened Fire On Basketball Court After Argument, Police Say Arlington Man Opened Fire On Basketball Court After Argument, Police Say
Arlington Man Opened Fire On Basketball Court After Argument, Police Say Talk about a sore loser. A Virginia man allegedly grabbed a gun after an argument during a basketball game and opened fire toward the court. Adrian Dwight Taylor, 51, is facing more than a dozen charges following an investigation into shots fired at the basketball courts at Gunston Middle School on Saturday, July 25, according to the Arlington Police Department. Shortly before 10 p.m. that night, officers were called to the 1400 block of 28th Street South, where there were reports of gunshots in the area. Investigators later determined that Taylor was playing in a basketball game with sev…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Leonardtown-California, MD
Breaking News
Loaded Guns Found After Drivers Try To Duck Deputies At St. Mary’s County Pool: Sheriff Loaded Guns Found After Drivers Try To Duck Deputies At St. Mary’s County Pool: Sheriff Loaded Guns Found After Drivers Try To Duck Deputies At St. Mary’s County Pool: Sheriff
Loaded Guns Found After Drivers Try To Duck Deputies At St. Mary’s County Pool: Sheriff A late-night trip to a Maryland community pool apparently came with more than towels and sunscreen, according to the sheriff’s office. Three young men found themselves in deep water after St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office deputies conducting a proactive patrol at the Wildewood Community Pool in California spotted two vehicles in the parking lot shortly after midnight on Sunday, Aug. 16. Then, deputies say, things moved quickly. As they approached a Hyundai Sonata and Ford Focus, both vehicles immediately attempted to leave the parking lot, prompting deputies to initiate traffic stops. In…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Manchester-Hampstead, MD
Your Community
Manchester Man Gets Last Ticket From Jammed Lottery Machine, Walks Away With $1M Manchester Man Gets Last Ticket From Jammed Lottery Machine, Walks Away With $1M Manchester Man Gets Last Ticket From Jammed Lottery Machine, Walks Away With $1M
Manchester Man Gets Last Ticket From Jammed Lottery Machine, Walks Away With $1M A jammed machine turned out to be one very lucky break for a Maryland man who wound up pulling $1 million out of it. The Carroll County ironworker was making a familiar stop at the Sheetz in the 3200 block of Main Street in Manchester when he bought a $20 100X the Cash scratch-off from a Lottery vending machine.  That's when things briefly went sideways: The machine jammed, forcing him to get some help retrieving his ticket. Once it was freed, he learned there was something else unusual about his purchase.  He had snagged the very last ticket in the machine, setting up a sequenc…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Havre de Grace, MD
Breaking News
Homeowner Airlifted After Going Inside Burning Havre de Grace Home To Investigate Smoke Homeowner Airlifted After Going Inside Burning Havre de Grace Home To Investigate Smoke Homeowner Airlifted After Going Inside Burning Havre de Grace Home To Investigate Smoke
Homeowner Airlifted After Going Inside Burning Havre de Grace Home To Investigate Smoke He smelled smoke, went inside to find the source, and wound up being flown from the scene of a raging Maryland house fire. A 64-year-old homeowner was outside talking with a neighbor when they noticed the smell of smoke shortly before the fire broke out on North Adams Street around 7:30 p.m. on Monday in Havre de Grace, according to the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal. He went back inside to investigate. That's when he discovered a fire burning in a rear bedroom, investigators said. As the homeowner tried to make his way back outside, he suffered smoke inhalation. Community F…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Breaking News
Mother Killed, Child Injured After Being Struck In Rockville Crash: Police Mother Killed, Child Injured After Being Struck In Rockville Crash: Police Mother Killed, Child Injured After Being Struck In Rockville Crash: Police
Mother Killed, Child Injured After Being Struck In Rockville Crash: Police A woman is dead, and her young son was injured in Maryland after being struck by a car that slid onto an embankment, officials confirmed. The woman and her child were hit near Chapman Avenue and Twinbrook Parkway in Rockville at approximately 8:25 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 17, according to Montgomery County police and fire officials. Both suffered serious injuries and were hospitalized, where the mother later died. The son is expected to survive. The driver remained at the scene to cooperate with the investigation, police said. It is unclear what caused the crash. Additional information i…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Former Virginia Corrections Sergeant Admits To $1.1M Prison Drug Smuggling Plot: DOC Former Virginia Corrections Sergeant Admits To $1.1M Prison Drug Smuggling Plot: DOC Former Virginia Corrections Sergeant Admits To $1.1M Prison Drug Smuggling Plot: DOC
Former Virginia Corrections Sergeant Admits To $1.1M Prison Drug Smuggling Plot: DOC A former Virginia corrections sergeant is now facing prison time herself. April Parrott, of Gordonsville, pleaded guilty Friday, Aug. 14, in Goochland County Circuit Court to conspiring to deliver drugs to a prisoner and possession of a Schedule III controlled substance, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections. The case stems from a months-long investigation into an attempted drug smuggling operation at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland County. And this wasn't a small stash. VADOC valued the drugs targeted in the alleged smuggling operation at approximate…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Driver Hit Gas When Armed Carjacker Tapped Gun Against Window: Feds Virginia Driver Hit Gas When Armed Carjacker Tapped Gun Against Window: Feds Virginia Driver Hit Gas When Armed Carjacker Tapped Gun Against Window: Feds
Virginia Driver Hit Gas When Armed Carjacker Tapped Gun Against Window: Feds A 21-year-old District man who terrorized drivers across DC, Maryland, and Virginia is heading to prison. Taurian Anderson pleaded guilty in US District Court on Monday to his role in a series of armed carjackings throughout the region that ultimately ended when he was apprehended by US Capitol Police during a bold getaway, federal authorities announced. The spree started in DC in August 2024, when Anderson pulled a gun on a DoorDash driver shortly after midnight and stole his Hyundai Elantra. Three hours later, prosecutors say, he and an accomplice struck again. This time, they confronte…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Prev Page 80 of 3952 78 79 80 81 82 Next
791 - 800 of 39,518 articles