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

Randallstown, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Parents Charged After 2-Month-Old Daughter Dies With Signs Of Trauma: Police Baltimore Parents Charged After 2-Month-Old Daughter Dies With Signs Of Trauma: Police
Baltimore Parents Charged After 2-Month-Old Daughter Dies With Signs Of Trauma: Police Two parents are facing multiple charges for their alleged roles in an infant's death in Maryland. Officers from the Baltimore Police Department were called shortly after 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to Harbor Hospital to investigate a reported infant death. Upon arrival, officers learned that 2-month-old Aida Alvarado had recently been pronounced deceased by medical staff. Members of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner responded and recovered the infant’s remains. Investigators say the preliminary findings indicate that the infant suffered trauma to the body. During the investigati…

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by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Breaking News
Occupied School Bus With Students On Board Rear-Ended In Damascus (DEVELOPING) Occupied School Bus With Students On Board Rear-Ended In Damascus (DEVELOPING)
Occupied School Bus With Students On Board Rear-Ended In Damascus (Developing) A Friday morning ride to school ended with three people headed to the hospital in Maryland. The crash happened at approximately 7:05 a.m. on Sept. 11 near Woodfield and Greenel roads in Damascus, where a vehicle rear-ended an occupied school bus, according to Montgomery County officials. Five students, two aides and the driver were on the bus at the time. Two adults and one student were taken to an area hospital with minor, non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. No other students aboard the bus reported injuries. Initial reports indicated there were no serious injuries, and fir…

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by Zak Failla
Middle River, MD
Breaking News
Killer Googled Victim's Address Before Maryland Murder, Vintage Cash's Value After Heist Killer Googled Victim's Address Before Maryland Murder, Vintage Cash's Value After Heist
Killer Googled Victim's Address Before Maryland Murder, Vintage Cash's Value After Heist Andre Raquan Riggs left behind one hell of a Google history for investigators to follow, prosecutors say. Before a Maryland murder, investigators say he searched for his victim's address. Afterward, he looked up the value of a "1950 ten-dollar bill" like the collectible currency stolen from the Glen Burnie home. More than four years later, Riggs, 28, of Middle River, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Sept. 9, in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to first-degree murder and using a firearm in a felony crime of violence in the killing of Matthew Ponder, 27. Ponder was killed during an overnig…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Your Community
Maryland Sets Its Own Vaccine Guidelines As Federal Guidance Shifts Maryland Sets Its Own Vaccine Guidelines As Federal Guidance Shifts
Maryland Sets Its Own Vaccine Guidelines As Federal Guidance Shifts Maryland is going its own way on vaccines. The Maryland Department of Health released new statewide vaccine recommendations on Thursday, Sept. 10, setting guidance for children and adults as families head into another respiratory virus season. The 2026-27 recommendations cover COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines, along with routine immunizations including MMR and hepatitis B. But the new guidelines don't come with any new mandates. School vaccination requirements remain unchanged, state health officials said. Instead, Maryland is using new authority granted under the Vax Act, which was signed…

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by Zak Failla
Centreville, VA
Breaking News
MURDER-SUICIDE: Husband Kills Wife, Himself With 3 Children Inside Centreville Home: Police MURDER-SUICIDE: Husband Kills Wife, Himself With 3 Children Inside Centreville Home: Police
Murder-suicide: Husband Kills Wife, Himself With 3 Children Inside Centreville Home: Police Three children were inside a Northern Virginia home when a husband shot his wife, and then himself on Wednesday, police say. Brandon Brown and Lavinia Brown, both 31, have been identified by the Fairfax County Police Department as the two people found dead inside a Centreville home. First responders were called around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, when a family member advised there had been a shooting in their home in the 6300 block of Sharps Drive, according to PFC Ingrid Palencia. Officers are on scene of a death investigation in the 6300 block of Sharps Dr in Centreville. An adult…

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by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Obituaries
'We Love You Rylee': Rockville Teen Remembered After Unexpected Death At 17 'We Love You Rylee': Rockville Teen Remembered After Unexpected Death At 17
'We Love You Rylee': Rockville Teen Remembered After Unexpected Death At 17 Rylee Eutzy should have had a lot more growing up left to do. Instead, the Maryland teenager's family and friends are mourning her unexpected death at just 17, while a community that watched her grow up is quickly closing ranks around those she left behind. Eutzy, who had ties to the Rockville High School community, was remembered as a daughter, a proud sister and a friend. Photos shared following her death tell some of the rest. There is Eutzy as a little girl, smiling beside her family. Years later, holding an AAU medal with a wide grin. In another, she's dressed up and laughing alongsi…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Escapee Ditches Ankle Monitor, But Freedom Lasts Less Than An Hour, Sheriff Says Maryland Escapee Ditches Ankle Monitor, But Freedom Lasts Less Than An Hour, Sheriff Says
Maryland Escapee Ditches Ankle Monitor, But Freedom Lasts Less Than An Hour, Sheriff Says Robert Andrew Bloom did not make it far after escaping custody in Maryland. An alert was issued late Thursday afternoon by the Frederick County Sheriff's Office for the 40-year-old, who was wanted after escaping custody while personnel from the Carroll County Sheriff's Office were at the Orenda Center in Frederick. According to investigators, Bloom fled the facility on foot after seeing Carroll County sheriff's personnel. Bloom then removed his ankle monitor in the area of Buckeystown Pike and Manor Woods Road, prompting a massive search that ended on Sept. 10 when he was tracked down and …

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by Zak Failla
Gaithersburg, MD
Breaking News
MoCo Councilman Back Home After Heart Attack With Warning: 'Don't Ignore The Signs' MoCo Councilman Back Home After Heart Attack With Warning: 'Don't Ignore The Signs'
MoCo Councilman Back Home After Heart Attack With Warning: 'Don't Ignore The Signs' Will Jawando is back home in Maryland with a message for anyone who thinks a heart attack can't happen to them. The Montgomery County Councilmember and Democratic nominee for county executive returned home after suffering a heart attack during a pickup basketball game on Saturday, Sept. 5, and released his first message since leaving George Washington University Hospital on Thursday. "Now that I'm home, I just wanted to reach out quickly and say thank you," Jawando said. He thanked supporters for the prayers, cards, flowers and texts sent to him and his family during the health scare, as …

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by Zak Failla
Sterling, VA
Breaking News
Maryland Man Robbed Same Loudoun Smoke Shop Twice In Days: 'Content Living Outside The Law' Maryland Man Robbed Same Loudoun Smoke Shop Twice In Days: 'Content Living Outside The Law'
Maryland Man Robbed Same Loudoun Smoke Shop Twice In Days: 'Content Living Outside The Law' A Baltimore man who crossed state lines twice in less than a week to rob the same smoke shop in Northern Virginia is heading to prison. James Allen Shore, 33, who prosecutors say has a lengthy criminal history, was given the max sentence following a pair of armed robberies, the Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office announced on Thursday. Shore's crime spree began on March 14, 2025, when he traveled from Baltimore to a tobacco outlet on the border of Loudoun County and Maryland. Around 4 a.m. that morning, while wearing a mask, prosecutors say he took out a firearm, threatened two…

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by Zak Failla
North East, MD
Breaking News
Mom's Boyfriend Convicted After Leading Cops To 3-Year-Old Girl Hidden In North East Suitcase Mom's Boyfriend Convicted After Leading Cops To 3-Year-Old Girl Hidden In North East Suitcase
Mom's Boyfriend Convicted After Leading Cops To 3-Year-Old Girl Hidden In North East Suitcase A Maryland man has been convicted for his role after his girlfriend murdered her 3-year-old daughter, and the girl's body was hidden in a suitcase inside a garbage pail. Cedrick Antoine Britten was found guilty following an 11-day trial stemming from the murder of Nola Dinkins by his girlfriend, Darrian Lynnelle Randle, in his North East home, the Cecil County State's Attorney's Office announced on Thursday. According to investigators, Randle initially sparked an AMBER Alert on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, when she falsely claimed that a man with a gun had kidnapped her daughter in Delaware. Th…

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by Zak Failla
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