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

Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Manassas Mom Charged After 9-Year-Old Brings Large Hunting Knife To Elementary School: Police Manassas Mom Charged After 9-Year-Old Brings Large Hunting Knife To Elementary School: Police Manassas Mom Charged After 9-Year-Old Brings Large Hunting Knife To Elementary School: Police
Manassas Mom Charged After 9-Year-Old Brings Large Hunting Knife To Elementary School: Police A 9-year-old Virginia boy brought his mother's large hunting knife to elementary school, but it was his mom who wound up facing criminal charges. The boy took the knife from his home before heading to Bennet Elementary School on Old Dominion Drive in Manassas on Wednesday, Oct. 14, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Police said the boy never displayed the knife or threatened any students or staff members while at school. Investigators determined that the knife belonged to his mother, Alison Elisabeth Morgan, 36, who was charged with contributing to the delinquency of…

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by Zak Failla
Hyattsville, MD
Obituaries
7-Year-Old Left Without Mom After Hyattsville Murder-Suicide As Family Fights To Bring Her Home 7-Year-Old Left Without Mom After Hyattsville Murder-Suicide As Family Fights To Bring Her Home 7-Year-Old Left Without Mom After Hyattsville Murder-Suicide As Family Fights To Bring Her Home
7-Year-Old Left Without Mom After Hyattsville Murder-Suicide As Family Fights To Bring Her Home A 7-year-old girl has been left without her mother following a suspected murder-suicide in Maryland. Now her family is seeking help to bring her body home to Guatemala so she can be laid to rest. Maury Cecilia Carías García, 29, was found dead inside her van in Hyattsville on Wednesday, Oct. 14, one day after her family reported her missing, according to the Montgomery County Department of Police. Officers were called to a parking lot in the 2000 block of University Boulevard around 12:20 p.m., where they discovered Carías García suffering from traumatic injuries inside the vehicle. She wa…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Adamstown Man Killed After Minivan Slams Into Equipment Trailer Parked In Roadway, Sheriff Says Adamstown Man Killed After Minivan Slams Into Equipment Trailer Parked In Roadway, Sheriff Says Adamstown Man Killed After Minivan Slams Into Equipment Trailer Parked In Roadway, Sheriff Says
Adamstown Man Killed After Minivan Slams Into Equipment Trailer Parked In Roadway, Sheriff Says A 72-year-old Maryland man was killed after his minivan crashed into an equipment trailer parked in the roadway in Frederick County, authorities announced. Victor Arevalo, of Adamstown, was driving a Honda Odyssey when he struck the trailer in the 5200 block of Mountville Road at approximately 1:51 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19, according to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office. Deputies responding to the crash found Arevalo injured inside the vehicle, and emergency personnel began life-saving measures before rushing him to an area hospital, where he later died. The sheriff's office Traffic Uni…

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by Zak Failla
Huntingtown, MD
Obituaries
Retirement Couldn't Keep Former Calvert County Deputy Away From Duty Before Deadly Crash Retirement Couldn't Keep Former Calvert County Deputy Away From Duty Before Deadly Crash Retirement Couldn't Keep Former Calvert County Deputy Away From Duty Before Deadly Crash
Retirement Couldn't Keep Former Calvert County Deputy Away From Duty Before Deadly Crash Retirement wasn't enough to keep a longtime Maryland law enforcement officer away from the job he had devoted much of his life to. Tod Alan Dahlberg, 57, a former Prince George's County police officer and Calvert County court security deputy, was killed in a three-vehicle crash in Kentucky on Tuesday, Oct. 13, years after retiring in Maryland and beginning a new chapter of service at a federal courthouse. eDahlberg served with the Calvert County Sheriff's Office from November 2010 until February 2019, following a career with the Prince George's County Police Department and military service …

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Overalls And Out Of Luck: Maryland Man Busted In Undercover Child Solicitation Sting Overalls And Out Of Luck: Maryland Man Busted In Undercover Child Solicitation Sting Overalls And Out Of Luck: Maryland Man Busted In Undercover Child Solicitation Sting
Overalls And Out Of Luck: Maryland Man Busted In Undercover Child Solicitation Sting Denim overalls couldn't keep one Maryland man from getting caught with his pants down. Hagerstown resident Robert Leroy Koontz, 41, was arrested during an undercover operation targeting adults seeking sexual contact with minors online, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. During the first week of October, undercover investigators used social media platforms to engage in conversations with adults allegedly seeking sexual contact with children, leading to multiple online contacts and in-person meetings, authorities said. The operation was conducted by the sheriff's office's D…

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by Zak Failla
Fredericksburg, VA
Your Community
Virginia Beach Among America's 10 Safest Cities, But Neighbor Norfolk Tells Different Story Virginia Beach Among America's 10 Safest Cities, But Neighbor Norfolk Tells Different Story Virginia Beach Among America's 10 Safest Cities, But Neighbor Norfolk Tells Different Story
Virginia Beach Among America's 10 Safest Cities, But Neighbor Norfolk Tells Different Story Two neighboring Virginia cities landed on opposite ends of a new national safety ranking, with one cracking the top 10 safest in America while the other failed to make the top 100. Virginia Beach ranked sixth safest in the country in WalletHub's 2026 Safest Cities in America study, released on Monday, Oct. 19, while neighboring Norfolk finished a distant 145th out of the 182 cities examined. That put 139 spots between the two Hampton Roads neighbors, despite their close proximity. Virginia Beach earned an overall safety score of 69.39 out of 100, placing it behind only Juneau, Alaska; Warw…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Your Community
Baltimore Named Third Least Safe City In America As Maryland Neighbor Ranks Among Safest Baltimore Named Third Least Safe City In America As Maryland Neighbor Ranks Among Safest Baltimore Named Third Least Safe City In America As Maryland Neighbor Ranks Among Safest
Baltimore Named Third Least Safe City In America As Maryland Neighbor Ranks Among Safest Only two cities in America are considered less safe than Baltimore, according to a new nationwide ranking. Charm City finished 180th out of 182 cities in WalletHub's 2026 ranking of the safest cities in America, placing the Maryland city third from the bottom in a study that examined everything from crime and traffic deaths to financial security and natural disasters. The city earned an overall safety score of just 36.70 out of 100, finishing ahead of only Baton Rouge, which ranked 181st, and New Orleans, which came in dead last. Baltimore's struggles extended beyond its overall ranking. …

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by Zak Failla
Hagerstown, MD
Breaking News
Teen Tosses Burning Marine Flare Under Table At Hagerstown Five Guys, Sending Families Fleeing Teen Tosses Burning Marine Flare Under Table At Hagerstown Five Guys, Sending Families Fleeing Teen Tosses Burning Marine Flare Under Table At Hagerstown Five Guys, Sending Families Fleeing
Teen Tosses Burning Marine Flare Under Table At Hagerstown Five Guys, Sending Families Fleeing Families enjoying dinner at a Maryland Five Guys were sent scrambling when a teen allegedly threw a burning marine flare into the restaurant, sending it beneath a table where children and adults were eating, officials say. The frightening incident unfolded at approximately 7:50 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Five Guys restaurant at 18007 Garland Groh Boulevard in Hagerstown, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. Investigators say the teen threw the lit flare into the occupied restaurant, where it landed beneath a table as customers were eating their evening meals. The u…

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by Zak Failla
Greenbelt, MD
Breaking News
Suspicious Letter Forces Evacuation Of Congressman Steny Hoyer's Greenbelt Office Suspicious Letter Forces Evacuation Of Congressman Steny Hoyer's Greenbelt Office Suspicious Letter Forces Evacuation Of Congressman Steny Hoyer's Greenbelt Office
Suspicious Letter Forces Evacuation Of Congressman Steny Hoyer's Greenbelt Office Another congressional office in Maryland was evacuated after receiving a suspicious letter, part of a growing wave of similar incidents targeting public officials across the country. Rep. Steny Hoyer confirmed on Monday, Oct. 19, that his district office in Greenbelt received a potentially hazardous letter, prompting an evacuation and a response from law enforcement. "Today, my district office in Greenbelt, Maryland, received a suspicious letter similar to those received by public officials across the country," Hoyer said in a statement posted to social media. View this…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Man Killed Neighbor, Wounded Victim's Son In Weekend Shooting, Police Say Baltimore Man Killed Neighbor, Wounded Victim's Son In Weekend Shooting, Police Say Baltimore Man Killed Neighbor, Wounded Victim's Son In Weekend Shooting, Police Say
Baltimore Man Killed Neighbor, Wounded Victim's Son In Weekend Shooting, Police Say A Maryland man is accused of killing his neighbor and wounding the victim's son in a weekend shooting before returning to the scene, where police were waiting. Rodney Hall, 62, was arrested following the double shooting in the 800 block of Bridgeview Road in Brooklyn at approximately 10:35 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, according to Baltimore Police. The shooting left 65-year-old Mark Lee Sr. and his 24-year-old son suffering from gunshot wounds, and both were rushed to an area hospital after officers arrived and rendered aid. Lee later died from his injuries, while his son survived. Police ha…

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by Zak Failla
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