Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

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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

Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Police K-9 Blue Found Dead Inside Department Vehicle At Handler's Virginia Home (DEVELOPING) Police K-9 Blue Found Dead Inside Department Vehicle At Handler's Virginia Home (DEVELOPING) Police K-9 Blue Found Dead Inside Department Vehicle At Handler's Virginia Home (DEVELOPING)
Police K-9 Blue Found Dead Inside Department Vehicle At Handler's Virginia Home (Developing) Charlottesville Police are mourning one of their own after a troubling discovery in Virginia. K-9 Blue was found unresponsive inside a Charlottesville Police Department vehicle at his handler's Greene County home on Sunday, Aug. 16, according to the department. Blue was later pronounced dead. Now Virginia State Police are investigating what happened. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Appomattox Field Office has taken over the investigation into Blue's death, Charlottesville Police announced in an update on Monday, Aug. 17. Exactly how the police K-9 died has not been determined. Bl…

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by Zak Failla
Edgewood, MD
Breaking News
Teen Found Shot In Edgewood After Gunfire Breaks Out Blocks Away, Sheriff Says Teen Found Shot In Edgewood After Gunfire Breaks Out Blocks Away, Sheriff Says Teen Found Shot In Edgewood After Gunfire Breaks Out Blocks Away, Sheriff Says
Teen Found Shot In Edgewood After Gunfire Breaks Out Blocks Away, Sheriff Says A 19-year-old was injured in a Maryland neighborhood on Sunday night, but investigators say the gunfire likely erupted somewhere else. Harford County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to the 700 block of Court Square Drive in Edgewood at around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, where they found the teen suffering from a gunshot wound to his lower body. Deputies immediately began treating the 19-year-old until paramedics arrived and took over, according to the sheriff's office. He was taken to a Baltimore-area trauma center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. But …

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by Zak Failla
Germantown, MD
Your Community
Hero Firefighter Revives Large Dog Saved From Burning Germantown Home Hero Firefighter Revives Large Dog Saved From Burning Germantown Home Hero Firefighter Revives Large Dog Saved From Burning Germantown Home
Hero Firefighter Revives Large Dog Saved From Burning Germantown Home Two dogs were saved from a Maryland townhouse fire on Sunday, Aug. 16. Crews were dispatched to the 20100 block of Club Hill Drive in Germantown at approximately 5:17 p.m. after a neighbor spotted smoke coming from the middle-of-the-row townhouse, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service officials. Firefighters arrived to find a kitchen fire burning on the first floor with flames extending upstairs, prompting a response that ultimately brought approximately 50 firefighters to the scene. As crews worked through the home, they found both dogs inside and carried them to saf…

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by Zak Failla
Reston, VA
Breaking News
Shot Fired During Altercation Before Man Barricades Himself In Reston Home: Police (DEVELOPING) Shot Fired During Altercation Before Man Barricades Himself In Reston Home: Police (DEVELOPING) Shot Fired During Altercation Before Man Barricades Himself In Reston Home: Police (DEVELOPING)
Shot Fired During Altercation Before Man Barricades Himself In Reston Home: Police (Developing) A man was detained after an altercation involving gunfire turned into a barricade situation in Virginia, police said. Fairfax County Police officers were called to the 2200 block of Castle Rock Square in Reston on Monday, Aug. 17, where an investigation into the developing incident remained underway. According to police, the man was involved in an altercation before a firearm was discharged. He then retreated into a residence and refused to come out, prompting the barricade response. Officers ultimately detained the man, police announced shortly before noon. No hostages were inside the r…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Obituaries
Spotsy Firefighter, 24, Leaves Behind Wife, 16-Month-Old 'Mini Me' After Lake Anna Drowning Spotsy Firefighter, 24, Leaves Behind Wife, 16-Month-Old 'Mini Me' After Lake Anna Drowning Spotsy Firefighter, 24, Leaves Behind Wife, 16-Month-Old 'Mini Me' After Lake Anna Drowning
Spotsy Firefighter, 24, Leaves Behind Wife, 16-Month-Old 'Mini Me' After Lake Anna Drowning Mason Fercovic-Ortegel spent his short life taking care of others. Now, the young Virginia firefighter's family is facing an uncertain future without him. The 24-year-old Spotsylvania County firefighter died in an off-duty drowning incident at Lake Anna on Thursday, Aug. 13, leaving behind his wife and their 16-month-old daughter. Behind the uniform, Ortegel was a husband and a young dad working to build a life for his family. And according to those now rallying around them, that family was the reason he worked so hard. "Mason Ortegel was known well for his service with the Spotsylvania C…

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by Zak Failla
Glen Burnie, MD
Breaking News
3 Stabbed Inside Glen Burnie Home Before Officers Tase Suspect: Police 3 Stabbed Inside Glen Burnie Home Before Officers Tase Suspect: Police 3 Stabbed Inside Glen Burnie Home Before Officers Tase Suspect: Police
3 Stabbed Inside Glen Burnie Home Before Officers Tase Suspect: Police A late-night disturbance in Maryland left three people stabbed and a man in handcuffs. Officers were called to the 400 block of Morningside Drive in Glen Burnie at approximately 10:25 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, where they found a 38-year-old man inside a home displaying “erratic behavior,” according to the Anne Arundel County Police Department. Then they found the victims. Three people at the scene had suffered stab wounds, police said. Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation before ultimately deploying Tasers to take the man into custody safely. All three victims were rushed to an…

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by Zak Failla
Lanham-Seabrook, MD
Breaking News
Motorcyclist Killed In Pre-Dawn Seabrook Crash Identified By Police As 36-Year-Old Man Motorcyclist Killed In Pre-Dawn Seabrook Crash Identified By Police As 36-Year-Old Man Motorcyclist Killed In Pre-Dawn Seabrook Crash Identified By Police As 36-Year-Old Man
Motorcyclist Killed In Pre-Dawn Seabrook Crash Identified By Police As 36-Year-Old Man A pre-dawn ride ended in tragedy on a Maryland road Sunday. Alonzo Bibines III, a 36-year-old Glenn Dale man, was riding west on Greenbelt Road shortly before 4 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, when he approached Aerospace Road in Lanham, according to Prince George's County Police. Coming the other way was a sedan. Investigators say the sedan was traveling east on Greenbelt Road when its driver began making a left turn onto Aerospace Road, putting the two vehicles on a collision course. Bibines struck the sedan and was thrown into the roadway, where officers found him when they arrived at approxi…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
No Easy Way Out: Maryland Helicopter Called In After UTV Rider Crashes Deep In Virginia Woods No Easy Way Out: Maryland Helicopter Called In After UTV Rider Crashes Deep In Virginia Woods No Easy Way Out: Maryland Helicopter Called In After UTV Rider Crashes Deep In Virginia Woods
No Easy Way Out: Maryland Helicopter Called In After UTV Rider Crashes Deep In Virginia Woods There was no easy way out after a UTV rider crashed deep in the Virginia woods. So rescuers called for backup. A Maryland State Police helicopter responded across state lines shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, after the rider was injured in a rollover on a remote trail near Cove Campground in Frederick County, Virginia. Frederick County rescue crews made their way to the injured rider, but getting him back out presented another problem. The location was remote, according to state police. The extrication was expected to take time, but the rider's injuries made waiting for a lon…

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by Zak Failla
Aberdeen, MD
Breaking News
Caught, Released, Caught Again: Accused Aberdeen Flasher's Freedom Doesn't Last Caught, Released, Caught Again: Accused Aberdeen Flasher's Freedom Doesn't Last Caught, Released, Caught Again: Accused Aberdeen Flasher's Freedom Doesn't Last
Caught, Released, Caught Again: Accused Aberdeen Flasher's Freedom Doesn't Last A medical situation gave an accused Maryland flasher a brief reprieve from justice. It didn't last long. Frederick Harris, 37, was arrested twice in a matter of hours after allegedly exposing himself to a woman at the Aberdeen Shopping Plaza, according to the Aberdeen Police Department. It started at approximately 10:18 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, when officers were called to the shopping plaza for a reported indecent exposure. Police say a woman was sitting inside her vehicle when the Aberdeen resident exposed himself to her and committed a lewd act. By the time officers arrived, he was …

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
100-Plus Vehicles Go Up In Flames At Spotsylvania Salvage Yard (PHOTOS) 100-Plus Vehicles Go Up In Flames At Spotsylvania Salvage Yard (PHOTOS) 100-Plus Vehicles Go Up In Flames At Spotsylvania Salvage Yard (PHOTOS)
100-Plus Vehicles Go Up In Flames At Spotsylvania Salvage Yard (Photos) This wasn't your average early-morning car fire in Virginia. Firefighters were called shortly after 4 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 17, to Pick-A-Part in the 9000 block of Patriot Highway in Spotsylvania County, where the initial report described flames towering above the trees. Crews got there about eight minutes later. What they found was massive. Stacks of demolished vehicles were engulfed, with the burning area estimated at roughly 150 feet by 150 feet and flames reaching about 20 feet high, according to the Spotsylvania Volunteer Fire Department. The Spotsylvania fire. Spotsylvan…

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by Zak Failla
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