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

Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Woman Wanted In Double Murder Of VDOT Workers Captured In North Carolina After Weeks On Run Woman Wanted In Double Murder Of VDOT Workers Captured In North Carolina After Weeks On Run
Woman Wanted In Double Murder Of VDOT Workers Captured In North Carolina After Weeks On Run The woman wanted in connection with the murders of two VDOT contract workers has reportedly been arrested in North Carolina after disappearing from Virginia. Investigators have been searching for Dennikia Rachelle Boyce, 37, since the fatal shootings on Friday, July 24 at a Virginia Department of Transportation staging area near Route 1 and Route 288 in Chesterfield County. Boyce was taken into custody on Thursday, Sept. 10, and faces two counts of second-degree murder in Virginia and a federal flight to avoid prosecution charge, according to officials. State police identified th…

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by Zak Failla
Triangle-Dumfries, VA
Breaking News
Neighbors Evacuated After Dumfries Man Beats Elderly Relative With Bat: Police Neighbors Evacuated After Dumfries Man Beats Elderly Relative With Bat: Police
Neighbors Evacuated After Dumfries Man Beats Elderly Relative With Bat: Police Houses had to be evacuated, and an elderly man was beaten by a family member who barricaded himself in a Northern Virginia home, officials say. Shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, officers from the Prince William County Police Department were called to a home in the 4300 block of Mulcaster Terrace in Dumfries, where a 69-year-old man was struck with a baseball bat. The attacker was later identified as 35-year-old Dumfries resident Cody Christian Lance, who proceeded to lock himself inside a room in the home, investigators said. The victim and another family member managed to ge…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Man Gunned Down In Montgomery County Neighborhood With Killer Still At Large: Police Man Gunned Down In Montgomery County Neighborhood With Killer Still At Large: Police
Man Gunned Down In Montgomery County Neighborhood With Killer Still At Large: Police Gunfire turned deadly in Maryland on Wednesday afternoon. Montgomery County Police and firefighters were called to the 1700 block of January Drive in White Oak at approximately 2:05 p.m. on Sept. 10, where an adult man had been shot, officials said. Police initially reported that the victim's condition was unclear and that no suspect was in custody. Minutes later came the grim update. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Investigators from the department's Major Crimes Division have been notified and are responding to investigate the fatal shooting. Police have…

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by Zak Failla
Parkville-Carney, MD
Your Community
Parkville Cancels 21-Gun Salute On Eve Of 25th Anniversary Of 9/11 Parkville Cancels 21-Gun Salute On Eve Of 25th Anniversary Of 9/11
Parkville Cancels 21-Gun Salute On Eve Of 25th Anniversary Of 9/11 A planned 21-gun salute won't be part of one Maryland community's remembrance of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks after all. Baltimore County Police announced on Thursday, Sept. 10, that the salute scheduled for Friday evening in Parkville has been canceled, though the rest of the community's events marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 will continue as planned. No reason for the cancellation was provided. The Presidential Salute Battery from the 3rd US Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, had been scheduled to perform the salute following the 16th Annual 9/11 Candlelight Vigil at McAvo…

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
Silver Spring Man Sprints Between School Bus, Sedan Before Fatal Tesla Strike In DC: MPD Silver Spring Man Sprints Between School Bus, Sedan Before Fatal Tesla Strike In DC: MPD
Silver Spring Man Sprints Between School Bus, Sedan Before Fatal Tesla Strike In DC: MPD A split-second dash through traffic turned deadly for a Maryland man. Bernard Massey, 56, of Silver Spring, died on Tuesday, Sept. 8, five days after he was struck by a Tesla on Georgia Avenue in Northwest DC, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. The crash happened shortly after 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3, in the 7700 block of Georgia Avenue NW. What happened next was anything but a routine pedestrian crash. Investigators say Massey had been standing on the east sidewalk before suddenly running into the roadway midblock, outside a crosswalk. He didn't have a clear path acros…

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by Zak Failla
Randallstown, MD
Obituaries
Baltimore Wrestler Maleek Ayonrinde Remembered For Faith, Joy After Drowning At 21 Baltimore Wrestler Maleek Ayonrinde Remembered For Faith, Joy After Drowning At 21
Baltimore Wrestler Maleek Ayonrinde Remembered For Faith, Joy After Drowning At 21 Maleek Ayonrinde was still figuring out where wrestling, college and a newfound commitment to his faith might take him. The 21-year-old Maryland native had already gone from the mats at New Town High School to competing at the college level, reaching the NJCAA national championships before eventually attending Bluefield State University in West Virginia. His life was cut short on Saturday, Sept. 5, when he drowned during a school-sanctioned outing to Brush Creek Falls. Ayonrinde was there with a group of students that included his friend Kairyn Riley, whose mother later described the despe…

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
Plane Makes Controlled Landing Without Working Nose Gear At Montgomery Airpark Plane Makes Controlled Landing Without Working Nose Gear At Montgomery Airpark
Plane Makes Controlled Landing Without Working Nose Gear At Montgomery Airpark Another close call has reignited a fight over safety at a Maryland airport. Montgomery County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke is calling for federal regulators to take a harder look at a flight school operating out of Montgomery County Airpark following the latest emergency there. The demand came after a twin-engine plane was forced to land without its nose gear on Monday, Sept. 7, after the landing gear failed to deploy. The pilot circled the Gaithersburg airpark, burned fuel and made several practice approaches before safely bringing the plane down. Neither person aboard was injured. For Lue…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Your Community
Virginia Family Loses Home To Falling Tree As Little League Community Steps Up Virginia Family Loses Home To Falling Tree As Little League Community Steps Up
Virginia Family Loses Home To Falling Tree As Little League Community Steps Up One Virginia family came out of the latest round of storms without a home. A massive tree came crashing down on the Clark family's house in the Riverheads area, destroying the home and forcing the family to find somewhere else to stay. The damage left them facing the loss of their house and many of their belongings, according to Megan Jeffers, who has since organized a fundraiser to help them get back on their feet. But the Clarks aren't facing it alone. Their son plays flag football, and their daughter plays softball for Riverheads Little League, where the family has become part of a you…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Gun Scare Triggers Lockdown At Virginia Middle School: What Parents Should Know Gun Scare Triggers Lockdown At Virginia Middle School: What Parents Should Know
Gun Scare Triggers Lockdown At Virginia Middle School: What Parents Should Know A confrontation between two drivers put a Virginia middle school on alert. The trouble began around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, near Fox Chase Boulevard in Stafford County, where investigators say one driver followed another before allegedly brandishing a firearm. The encounter happened close enough to Edward E. Drew Middle School that administrators placed the school on a partial lockdown while deputies searched the surrounding area. The incident had nothing to do with the school, the Stafford County Sheriff's Office later confirmed, and the lockdown was lifted shortly afterward. By th…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Manassas Gunfight Between 3 Men Leaves Innocent 16-Year-Old Girl Dead: Police Manassas Gunfight Between 3 Men Leaves Innocent 16-Year-Old Girl Dead: Police
Manassas Gunfight Between 3 Men Leaves Innocent 16-Year-Old Girl Dead: Police An innocent teenager was caught in somebody else’s gunfight. The 16-year-old girl was killed after gunfire erupted near the 9400 block of West Street in Manassas at approximately 9:28 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, during the city's First Friday festivities, according to police. Now investigators say they have pieced together what led to the deadly exchange, and three men accused of opening fire are behind bars. Xavier Wanzer, 19, approached and confronted 21-year-old Tasheem Douglas that night, police said in an update released on Wednesday, Sept. 9. The two already had what investigators desc…

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by Zak Failla
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