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

Leesburg, VA
Your Community
Going Against The Online Grain: New Leesburg Shop Opens With One-Of-A-Kind Finds Going Against The Online Grain: New Leesburg Shop Opens With One-Of-A-Kind Finds Going Against The Online Grain: New Leesburg Shop Opens With One-Of-A-Kind Finds
Going Against The Online Grain: New Leesburg Shop Opens With One-Of-a-kind Finds Who needs the machine? Some treasures are better found in person. A new Virginia shop is betting there are still plenty of people who would rather wander through a store, stumble across something unexpected, and take it home than add another item to an online cart. The Painter's Cottage has opened its first brick-and-mortar location at 23 N. King St., Suite 125 in Leesburg, bringing its collection of artisan, antique and vintage home décor under one roof. The Painter's Cottage In Leesburg The Painter's Cottage In Leesburg via Facebook The shop celebrated its grand opening with a ri…

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Here We Khat Again: Dulles Officers Bust Another Traveler With Bags Full Of Drugs Here We Khat Again: Dulles Officers Bust Another Traveler With Bags Full Of Drugs Here We Khat Again: Dulles Officers Bust Another Traveler With Bags Full Of Drugs
Here We Khat Again: Dulles Officers Bust Another Traveler With Bags Full Of Drugs Apparently, khat keeps finding its way into Virginia airports. The latest haul turned up Wednesday night, Sept. 23, at Washington Dulles International Airport, where federal officers say they found more than 65 pounds of the stimulant plant packed inside the checked luggage of a traveler arriving from Morocco. This time, it ended with an arrest. Bakari Wally, 24, of the Bronx, was taken into custody Thursday morning by Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police and charged with possession with intent to distribute and transporting a controlled substance into Virginia, according to U…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Breaking News
Speed Eyed In Deadly Spotsylvania Crash Involving 29-Year-Old Motorcyclist, Sheriff Says Speed Eyed In Deadly Spotsylvania Crash Involving 29-Year-Old Motorcyclist, Sheriff Says Speed Eyed In Deadly Spotsylvania Crash Involving 29-Year-Old Motorcyclist, Sheriff Says
Speed Eyed In Deadly Spotsylvania Crash Involving 29-Year-Old Motorcyclist, Sheriff Says A late-night ride in Virginia ended with a 29-year-old motorcyclist dead and another driver hospitalized. Thomas Bradley Johnson, of Spotsylvania, was killed shortly before 10 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24, when his motorcycle collided with a vehicle near Stanfield Road and Matta Way, according to the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office. Deputies were called to the crash around 9:50 p.m. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities believe Johnson was speeding when his motorcycle struck a vehicle that was making a left turn. The other driver survived and was taken to a local hospital with…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Weather
O.A.R., Dave Matthews Silenced As Rare September Nor'easter Wipes Out Oceans Calling Festival O.A.R., Dave Matthews Silenced As Rare September Nor'easter Wipes Out Oceans Calling Festival O.A.R., Dave Matthews Silenced As Rare September Nor'easter Wipes Out Oceans Calling Festival
O.A.R., Dave Matthews Silenced As Rare September Nor'easter Wipes Out Oceans Calling Festival A rare September nor'easter has already crashed one of Maryland's biggest music weekends. Oceans Calling organizers canceled the entire three-day festival in Ocean City on Friday, Sept. 25, as a strengthening coastal storm threatened the region with flooding, damaging winds and worsening beach conditions. The decision came less than a day after organizers initially canceled only Friday's performances, hoping to salvage the rest of the sold-out weekend. That hope didn't last. Organizers said the National Weather Service reported a stronger westward track for the nor'easter, while tides, fl…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Martinsburg Man Crossed Into Washington County During Four-Day Maryland Crime Spree: Feds Martinsburg Man Crossed Into Washington County During Four-Day Maryland Crime Spree: Feds Martinsburg Man Crossed Into Washington County During Four-Day Maryland Crime Spree: Feds
Martinsburg Man Crossed Into Washington County During Four-Day Maryland Crime Spree: Feds Jordon Redfern allegedly packed four violent crimes into a four-day bank robbery spree across Maryland. Now he faces decades in prison. The 30-year-old Martinsburg, West Virginia, man has been indicted on a host of charges following a crime spree in Washington County and Baltimore, federal authorities announced on Friday, Sept. 25. According to the four-count indictment, the spree began on May 29, when Redfern allegedly robbed a bank in Windsor Mill and made off with approximately $6,300 in cash. Two days later, prosecutors say he headed west and carjacked a luxury vehicle in Washington C…

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Your Community
No Way In: Maryland's State Park Nobody Could Visit For Nearly 30 Years May Finally Open No Way In: Maryland's State Park Nobody Could Visit For Nearly 30 Years May Finally Open No Way In: Maryland's State Park Nobody Could Visit For Nearly 30 Years May Finally Open
No Way In: Maryland's State Park Nobody Could Visit For Nearly 30 Years May Finally Open Maryland has spent nearly three decades sitting on a state park with one fairly significant problem. Nobody could get into it. That may finally be changing at Wills Mountain State Park, where officials are taking the next steps toward opening more than 800 acres overlooking Cumberland to the public after decades of waiting. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced that more than $750,000 is being put toward planning the future of the long-promised park, including a $521,684 federal grant awarded to Frostburg State University. And "long-promised" might be putting it mildly. …

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by Zak Failla
Woodstock-Marriottsville, MD
Your Community
Maryland Soldier Lost In Pearl Harbor's West Loch Disaster Comes Home 82 Years Later Maryland Soldier Lost In Pearl Harbor's West Loch Disaster Comes Home 82 Years Later Maryland Soldier Lost In Pearl Harbor's West Loch Disaster Comes Home 82 Years Later
Maryland Soldier Lost In Pearl Harbor's West Loch Disaster Comes Home 82 Years Later More than 82 years after he was killed half a world away, a Maryland soldier is finally home. Pfc. Owen M. Norris, a 26-year-old Marriottsville native, returned to his home state on Thursday, Sept. 24, when his flag-draped casket arrived at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport as family members, service members, first responders, and airport workers gathered to welcome him. On Saturday morning, they will finish a journey that began in 1944. Norris will be buried at West Liberty United Methodist Church Cemetery in Marriottsville, two months after military officials finally identified remains that …

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by Zak Failla
Alexandria, VA
Breaking News
Virginia Man Had 'Carnal Knowledge' Of Teen He Knew Over Past Year, Police Say Virginia Man Had 'Carnal Knowledge' Of Teen He Knew Over Past Year, Police Say Virginia Man Had 'Carnal Knowledge' Of Teen He Knew Over Past Year, Police Say
Virginia Man Had 'Carnal Knowledge' Of Teen He Knew Over Past Year, Police Say A Virginia man allegedly engaged in sexual activity with a child he knew over the course of a year, police say. Jacob Ritchie, 25, of Culpeper, was arrested after the allegations were reported to Culpeper Police on Wednesday, Sept. 23, prompting detectives to investigate what they say had been happening over the past year. The child is between 13 and 15 years old, according to police. Detectives interviewed those involved and reviewed digital and electronic evidence before charging Ritchie with five felony counts of carnal knowledge of a child between 13 and 15. More charges could be comi…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Farmhands Race To Save Maryland Farm As Smoke Rises From Towering Hay Stacks Farmhands Race To Save Maryland Farm As Smoke Rises From Towering Hay Stacks Farmhands Race To Save Maryland Farm As Smoke Rises From Towering Hay Stacks
Farmhands Race To Save Maryland Farm As Smoke Rises From Towering Hay Stacks A quick decision may have saved a Maryland farm from a far more expensive disaster. Smoke was spotted among towering stacks of hay at Deere Valley Farm in Dickerson at around 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24, prompting the owner and farmhands to call 911 and get to work before firefighters even finished arriving. They started moving the massive bales out. The fire at Deere Valley Farms in Dickerson. Twitter/@mcfrsPIO About 50 Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service firefighters ultimately responded to the farm on Dickerson Road near Mouth of Monocacy Road, where hay was smolderin…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Firefighters Forced To Retreat As Burning Fairfax County Home Partially Collapses (VIDEO) Firefighters Forced To Retreat As Burning Fairfax County Home Partially Collapses (VIDEO) Firefighters Forced To Retreat As Burning Fairfax County Home Partially Collapses (VIDEO)
Firefighters Forced To Retreat As Burning Fairfax County Home Partially Collapses (Video) The house was already burning on both floors when part of it started coming down. Firefighters battling a raging two-alarm Virginia house fire late Thursday, Sept. 24, were forced to retreat and attack the flames from outside after part of the home collapsed, officials said. Crews were called to Fordson Road and Douglas Street in the Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County at 11:27 p.m. after multiple 911 callers reported heavy fire, black smoke and flames shooting through the roof. When firefighters arrived, they found a two-story home engulfed in heavy fire on both levels. Crews initiall…

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by Zak Failla
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