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

Frederick, MD
Obituaries
Philip Kulo Got 10 More Years With A New Heart And Made Every One Of Them Count Philip Kulo Got 10 More Years With A New Heart And Made Every One Of Them Count
Philip Kulo Got 10 More Years With A New Heart And Made Every One Of Them Count A second chance at life gave a Maryland man 10 more years. Philip Kulo made them count. Kulo, a former James Hubert Blake High School football player in Silver Spring, died in September, prompting an outpouring of tributes from family and friends who remembered a dreamer, writer, and creative who seemed most fulfilled when helping others find their way. His family knew how easily his medical journey could become the story of his life. They also knew that wasn't the story they wanted told. Kulo was diagnosed with heart failure as a teenager and spent months living with a ventricular assist…

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by Zak Failla
Poolesville, MD
Breaking News
Pedestrian Killed Outside Poolesville McDonald's By Wanted Hit-Run Driver: Police (DEVELOPING) Pedestrian Killed Outside Poolesville McDonald's By Wanted Hit-Run Driver: Police (DEVELOPING)
Pedestrian Killed Outside Poolesville McDonald's By Wanted Hit-Run Driver: Police (Developing) A 27-year-old man is dead, and a driver is at large after an overnight hit-run under investigation in Maryland. Officers were called to Fisher Avenue and Milford Mill Road in the area of McDonald's in Pooleville shortly after 1:50 a.m. on Sunday morning, where there were reports of a pedestrian who had been struck, according to the Montgomery County Police Department. The man was struck outside the fast food restaurant, investigators say, and the driver took off westbound on Fisher Avenue toward Elgin Road. MCPD 1D officers and @MCFRS on scene of a pedestrian struck in the 19600 block o…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Man Freed After 20 Years For Assaulting Woman Murdered Her Months Later: Feds DC Man Freed After 20 Years For Assaulting Woman Murdered Her Months Later: Feds
DC Man Freed After 20 Years For Assaulting Woman Murdered Her Months Later: Feds A second chance for a DC man who spent more than 20 years behind bars for assaulting a woman ended nine months later with that same woman dead. Michael Garrett, 70, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2021 murder of Sylvia Matthews, a woman he had a long history of assaulting and threatening, federal prosecutors announced. Garrett had been released from prison on compassionate release in March 2021 after serving more than two decades in a case involving Matthews. That case also involved Garrett breaking into her home. Prosecutors opposed his release, specifically citing his previo…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
'When They Will Come Home': Wes Moore Goes After Trump For Barring White House Reporters 'When They Will Come Home': Wes Moore Goes After Trump For Barring White House Reporters
'When They Will Come Home': Wes Moore Goes After Trump For Barring White House Reporters Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is accusing President Donald Trump of shutting reporters out of the White House rather than answering questions about the war, deployed service members and rising costs. Moore weighed in on Friday, Sept. 18, hours after Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico were being banned from the White House, effective immediately. “Trump cannot give service members’ families answers on when they will come home…” Moore wrote on X. “…or tell the American people how this war will end and when they can afford gas and groceries again. “So instead, he is barring the repo…

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by Zak Failla
Chantilly, VA
Breaking News
Woman In Wheelchair Struck, Killed While Crossing Route 50 In Fairfax Identified (DEVELOPING) Woman In Wheelchair Struck, Killed While Crossing Route 50 In Fairfax Identified (DEVELOPING)
Woman In Wheelchair Struck, Killed While Crossing Route 50 In Fairfax Identified (Developing) A woman using a wheelchair was killed while trying to cross a busy Virginia highway Friday night. Theresa Flynn, 53, of Chantilly, was attempting to make her way across Route 50 near Plaza Lane in Fairfax County shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 18 when she was hit by a Kia, police said. Flynn was headed across the westbound lanes in her mobility wheelchair when the driver struck her. She was outside a crosswalk at the time. The impact left Flynn with critical injuries. She was taken to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save her. The driver escaped injury and stopped after the cra…

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by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Breaking News
Rabid Raccoon Found In Harford County Prompts Warning About Possible Exposure Rabid Raccoon Found In Harford County Prompts Warning About Possible Exposure
Rabid Raccoon Found In Harford County Prompts Warning About Possible Exposure Maryland health officials are warning residents about a possible rabies exposure after a raccoon tested positive for the virus. The raccoon was found near the 1900 block of Jerrys Road in Street, the Harford County Health Department announced on Friday, Sept. 18. The department received confirmation from the Maryland Department of Health that day that the animal had tested positive for rabies. Officials said the raccoon may have come into contact with people or pets in the surrounding area. Anyone who believes they or their pets had contact with a raccoon in the area has been asked to cal…

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by Zak Failla
Aberdeen, MD
Breaking News
I-95 Road Rage Suspect Found Armed With Loaded 9mm At Aberdeen Proving Ground: Police I-95 Road Rage Suspect Found Armed With Loaded 9mm At Aberdeen Proving Ground: Police
I-95 Road Rage Suspect Found Armed With Loaded 9mm At Aberdeen Proving Ground: Police A Maryland road rage investigation ended in a place few fleeing drivers would probably choose to hide: a US Army installation. Baltimore resident Adam Kuper, 25, was tracked to Aberdeen Proving Ground on Friday, Sept. 18, after allegedly pointing a gun at another driver on I-95 and continuing north into Harford County, Maryland State Police said. The encounter began shortly before 9:45 a.m. on northbound I-95 near mile marker 72 in Baltimore County, where police say Kuper was driving a white Mazda CX-5. What started as road rage allegedly escalated when Kuper pointed a gun at the other dri…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Man Refused To Fight Over 'Perceived Slight,' So Teen Shot Him Dead: Prosecutors Maryland Man Refused To Fight Over 'Perceived Slight,' So Teen Shot Him Dead: Prosecutors
Maryland Man Refused To Fight Over 'Perceived Slight,' So Teen Shot Him Dead: Prosecutors A passing comment cost a young Maryland man his life. More than a year later, 18-year-old Jonathan Jobe has been convicted of second-degree murder for shooting Dajaud Rae’heim Townsend in the face behind a Salisbury home after taking offense to something he said. A Wicomico County jury returned the verdict on Wednesday, Sept. 16, following an eight-day trial, according to State's Attorney Jamie Dykes' office. Prosecutors say the deadly encounter unfolded behind a Smith Street home on July 15, 2025. Townsend made a comment that offended Jobe, who responded by putting a gun against his head…

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by Zak Failla
Landover, MD
Breaking News
Passenger Thrown Into Roadway After Car Loses Control, Slams Into Light Pole In Landover Passenger Thrown Into Roadway After Car Loses Control, Slams Into Light Pole In Landover
Passenger Thrown Into Roadway After Car Loses Control, Slams Into Light Pole In Landover A late-night ride turned deadly in Maryland when a car went out of control and sent one of its passengers flying into the roadway, police said. The single-vehicle crash happened at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, in the area of Landover Road and Kent Town Drive in Landover, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. Investigators say the car was heading south on Landover Road when the driver lost control for reasons that remain under investigation. The car ultimately slammed into a light pole. One passenger was ejected from the vehicle and found in the roadway…

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by Zak Failla
Bristow, VA
Breaking News
Former Co-Worker Accused Of Raping 16-Year-Old Girl After Bristow Meetup: Police Former Co-Worker Accused Of Raping 16-Year-Old Girl After Bristow Meetup: Police
Former Co-Worker Accused Of Raping 16-Year-Old Girl After Bristow Meetup: Police A 34-year-old man is accused of turning a meetup with his 16-year-old former co-worker into a rape. Months after the alleged assault at a home in Bristow, Manassas resident Edgar Jose Mendoza was arrested on Monday, Sept. 15, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Investigators say Mendoza and the girl knew each other from working together and agreed to meet at a home on Breeden Hall Court at around 6 p.m. on March 15. She was 16 at the time. During the encounter, Mendoza allegedly sexually assaulted the teen. Police said she did not report suffering any injuries. The …

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by Zak Failla
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