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

Gainesville, VA
Breaking News
Tequila To Trouble: Diner Pulls Gun, Drives Off From Gainesville Restaurant, Police Say Tequila To Trouble: Diner Pulls Gun, Drives Off From Gainesville Restaurant, Police Say Tequila To Trouble: Diner Pulls Gun, Drives Off From Gainesville Restaurant, Police Say
Tequila To Trouble: Diner Pulls Gun, Drives Off From Gainesville Restaurant, Police Say Things went from tequila to trouble in a hurry at a Virginia restaurant when an allegedly drunk diner turned a war of words into an armed encounter, police say. Officers were called over the weekend to the El Tio Restaurant in the 7500 block of Linton Hall Road in Gainesville, where a man was reportedly brandishing a handgun during a dispute that turned violent. Manassas man Robert Patrick Block Jr., 27, is accused of getting into an argument at the eatery shortly after 10:10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, that rapidly escalated from a verbal altercation to a physical one, according to the Prince …

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by Zak Failla
Prince Frederick, MD
Breaking News
McSnooze: Teen Found Asleep In Prince Frederick McDonald's Drive-Thru Had Loaded Gun: Sheriff McSnooze: Teen Found Asleep In Prince Frederick McDonald's Drive-Thru Had Loaded Gun: Sheriff McSnooze: Teen Found Asleep In Prince Frederick McDonald's Drive-Thru Had Loaded Gun: Sheriff
McSnooze: Teen Found Asleep In Prince Frederick McDonald's Drive-Thru Had Loaded Gun: Sheriff One Maryland teen apparently took the "drive-thru" part a little less literally than intended, according to the Calvert County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were called to the McDonald's on North Solomons Island Road in Prince Frederick during an early morning call earlier this month, where employees reported a 19-year-old man had passed out behind the wheel in the drive-thru lane, officials announced on Monday, Aug. 10. When investigators arrived, they found the vehicle stopped between the restaurant's two drive-thru windows. Then came the wake-up call. Deputies repeatedly knocked on the wi…

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Stafford Crosses Into Prince William County, Things Go Off With A Bang In Triangle: Police Stafford Crosses Into Prince William County, Things Go Off With A Bang In Triangle: Police Stafford Crosses Into Prince William County, Things Go Off With A Bang In Triangle: Police
Stafford Crosses Into Prince William County, Things Go Off With A Bang In Triangle: Police Stafford crossed into Prince William County and apparently brought some firepower with him. A man with a familiar last name found himself in the wrong part of Northern Virginia after shots rang out in Prince William County, police said. Quantico resident Christan Stafford, 25, was arrested after officers were called to investigate reported gunfire in Triangle shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Police were called to the 16600 block of Pleasant Road, where responding officers found Stafford sitting inside a vehicle with a fi…

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by Zak Failla
Mount Airy-Woodbine, MD
Your Community
No Hydrants, Massive Flames: $600K Mt. Airy House Fire Draws 80 Firefighters (PHOTOS) No Hydrants, Massive Flames: $600K Mt. Airy House Fire Draws 80 Firefighters (PHOTOS) No Hydrants, Massive Flames: $600K Mt. Airy House Fire Draws 80 Firefighters (PHOTOS)
No Hydrants, Massive Flames: $600K Mt. Airy House Fire Draws 80 Firefighters (Photos) There wasn't much left to save by the time firefighters reached this Maryland home. Flames were already tearing through the first and second floors of a house in the 2500 block of Vance Drive in Mount Airy when crews arrived shortly after 4:40 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9, according to the Winfield Community Volunteer Fire Department and Maryland State Fire Marshal. The fire was so advanced that crews couldn't safely take the fight inside. The fire in Carroll County. Winfield Community Volunteer Fire Department Instead, firefighters took a defensive approach as flames engulfed the sprawlin…

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by Zak Failla
Finksburg, MD
Breaking News
Man Dies, Woman Rushed To Burn Center After Early-Morning Finksburg House Fire Man Dies, Woman Rushed To Burn Center After Early-Morning Finksburg House Fire Man Dies, Woman Rushed To Burn Center After Early-Morning Finksburg House Fire
Man Dies, Woman Rushed To Burn Center After Early-Morning Finksburg House Fire The day began with tragedy inside a Maryland home. A 64-year-old man died, and a 77-year-old woman was injured after a fire broke out at a home in the 1800 block of Old Westminster Pike in Finksburg on Monday, Aug. 10, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal. Firefighters from the Reese Volunteer Fire Company and surrounding departments were called to the home at approximately 5:23 a.m., officials said. Both were inside when the fire broke out. The man was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said. His body was later transported to the Office of the Chief Medi…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Obituaries
Virginia Teacher, Cheer Coach Faces 'Future She Never Imagined' After Husband's Death Virginia Teacher, Cheer Coach Faces 'Future She Never Imagined' After Husband's Death Virginia Teacher, Cheer Coach Faces 'Future She Never Imagined' After Husband's Death
Virginia Teacher, Cheer Coach Faces 'Future She Never Imagined' After Husband's Death For years, Emily Murphy has been the one showing up for everyone else. Now, after the Prince William County middle school teacher and longtime cheer coach suddenly lost her husband, Jordan, on Monday, Aug. 3, the Virginia community she spent years supporting is showing up for her. More than $13,000 has been raised through a GoFundMe campaign for Emily as friends, athletes, families and neighbors rally around the longtime FAME All Stars coach following the death of the man described as her best friend and the love of her life. The Murphy family. GoFundMe "Emily has spent her lif…

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by Zak Failla
McLean, VA
Your Community
GW Parkway Drivers Face Weeks Of Midday Shutdowns As Tree Work Begins In McLean GW Parkway Drivers Face Weeks Of Midday Shutdowns As Tree Work Begins In McLean GW Parkway Drivers Face Weeks Of Midday Shutdowns As Tree Work Begins In McLean
GW Parkway Drivers Face Weeks Of Midday Shutdowns As Tree Work Begins In McLean The morning commute gets a pass. Drivers hitting the road later won't be so lucky. A heavily traveled stretch of the George Washington Memorial Parkway will completely shut down to northbound traffic for five hours at a time beginning Monday, Aug. 10, kicking off weeks of weekday closures that could snarl midday travel through Northern Virginia. The National Park Service is closing all northbound lanes between Spout Run Parkway and Route 123 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays through Tuesday, Sept. 1. No squeezing through on one lane. Every northbound driver will be for…

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by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Breaking News
'Fight Of His Life': Leukemia Diagnosis Rocks Growing Harford County Family 'Fight Of His Life': Leukemia Diagnosis Rocks Growing Harford County Family 'Fight Of His Life': Leukemia Diagnosis Rocks Growing Harford County Family
'Fight Of His Life': Leukemia Diagnosis Rocks Growing Harford County Family A Maryland family counting down the days to a new arrival suddenly found itself counting on something else entirely: each other. Lee Single, a husband and father from the Bel Air area, was diagnosed with leukemia on Friday, July 31, just weeks before he and his wife, Jess, are expecting to welcome their second child, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched by his family. Now, instead of spending the final weeks before their baby boy arrives at home with Jess and their 2-year-old daughter, Isla, Single is facing an extended stay at Duke University Hospital. His family says he'll undergo i…

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
4-Month-Old Airlifted After Virginia Crash As Drivers Tell Cops Same Story: Police 4-Month-Old Airlifted After Virginia Crash As Drivers Tell Cops Same Story: Police 4-Month-Old Airlifted After Virginia Crash As Drivers Tell Cops Same Story: Police
4-Month-Old Airlifted After Virginia Crash As Drivers Tell Cops Same Story: Police A terrifying night on a Virginia roadway left a 4-month-old baby fighting through serious injuries. Prince George County police officers were called at approximately 9:55 p.m. to James River Drive (Route 10) and Ruffin Road, where a Dodge Charger and minivan collided at the intersection. Inside the Charger, officers found the infant unconscious and unresponsive with head trauma, police said. Prince George Fire and EMS crews arranged for the baby to be airlifted to VCU Medical Center for advanced care. Police did not provide an updated condition for the infant in an Aug. 10 announcement, s…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Your Community
4 Cats Rescued As Baltimore Rowhome Blaze Sends 4 People To Hospitals (DEVELOPING) 4 Cats Rescued As Baltimore Rowhome Blaze Sends 4 People To Hospitals (DEVELOPING) 4 Cats Rescued As Baltimore Rowhome Blaze Sends 4 People To Hospitals (DEVELOPING)
4 Cats Rescued As Baltimore Rowhome Blaze Sends 4 People To Hospitals (Developing) Firefighters weren't the only ones scrambling to get everyone out safely from a burning Maryland home. Four cats were rescued after flames broke out at a two-story dwelling in the 2800 block of West North Avenue in Baltimore on Monday, Aug. 10, according to the Baltimore City Fire Department. Crews arrived to find smoke showing from the home before firefighters moved in and extinguished the blaze. Five people were treated following the fire. Four were taken to local hospitals, while a fifth person refused transport, fire officials said. The extent of their injuries was not immediately rel…

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by Zak Failla
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