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

New Details Released In I-395 Crash That Killed 3 Teens Following Alexandria Police Chase: VSP A 16-year-old Maryland girl remains hospitalized as the sole survivor of a stolen-car crash that killed three other teens following a brief police pursuit in Virginia. Virginia State Police have confirmed that the surviving girl is from Prince George's County, correcting earlier information about her hometown following the Sept. 28 crash on the northbound I-395 exit ramp at Shirlington Road. Two of the teens killed in the crash, including the driver, were both 16-year-old boys from Silver Spring, Maryland. A third victim, a 17-year-old boy whose hometown has not been confirmed, died at the …

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

Hagerstown, MD

Breaking News

Firefighters Rescue Victim From Second Floor Of Burning Hagerstown Duplex (Photos) A victim trapped on the second floor of a burning Maryland duplex was brought to safety by firefighters using a ground ladder as flames tore through the upstairs portion of the home. Crews from the Hagerstown Fire Department responded to a working house fire in the 700 block of Forest Drive, where firefighters encountered a blaze that required a rescue from the second floor. According to the department, crews used a ground ladder to reach the victim and bring them down from the burning building. The fire in Hagerstown. Hagerstown Fire Department Firefighters were able to contain th…

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

Rockville, MD

Breaking News

Range Rover, Mercedes, $4M Property: Rockville CEO Accused In $100M COVID Fraud: DOJ COVID-19 testing became a multimillion-dollar payday for a Maryland businessman whose spending included a Range Rover, a Mercedes-Benz, and a $4 million property, according to federal prosecutors. Marc Aaron Potash, 57, of Rockville, is facing a 13-count federal indictment tied to an alleged $100 million healthcare fraud scheme involving his Gaithersburg company, Tiero LLC, which investigators say collected more than $50 million from insurers for COVID tests that weren't performed as billed. The operation allegedly began in January 2022, when COVID testing was still commonplace, and insuran…

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

Arlington, VA

Obituaries

DC Official Who Rebuilt His Life After Prison Killed In Electric Scooter Crash Talib Shakir spent years rebuilding his life and helping others find a second chance before a deadly electric scooter crash in DC brought his remarkable journey to a sudden end. Shakir, 50, the director of the Mayor's Office on Returning Citizen Affairs, was killed following a collision involving two electric scooters at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Eighth Street SE at approximately 6:47 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Shakir and a woman were riding separate electric scooters when they collided in the intersection. First responders fo…

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

Alexandria, VA

Breaking News

Girl Pinned Beneath SUV In Alexandria Freed By Firefighters In Under Six Minutes It took Virginia firefighters less than six minutes to free a young girl trapped beneath an SUV after she was struck by the vehicle, forcing crews to carry out a complicated rescue before specialized equipment could arrive. The rescue unfolded on Tuesday night in the 600 block of North Ripley Street in Alexandria, where multiple 911 callers reported that a child had been struck by an SUV. First responders arrived to find the girl conscious but pinned beneath the vehicle's front axle, with the weight of the SUV preventing them from safely pulling her free. With a specialized rescue team and…

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

Lexington Park, MD

Breaking News

Dead Man's Identity Used In Attempt To Dodge Arrest During Maryland Traffic Stop, Sheriff Says A Maryland driver apparently had a different identity in mind when he was pulled over by police, but there was one problem with the name and birthday he provided: They belonged to someone who was already dead. What began as a routine traffic stop in Wicomico County took an unusual turn shortly after 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, when a sheriff's deputy stopped a blue Honda Civic near West Isabella Street and Claiborne Street in Salisbury. Behind the wheel was Travis Jerome Hollowell, though that wasn't the name he initially gave the deputy. Instead, Hollowell provided a name and date of b…

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

Lexington Park, MD

Your Community

Search For St. Mary's County Man Missing Since August Comes Up Empty As Mystery Continues A coordinated search for a Maryland man who vanished nearly two months ago has come up empty, leaving investigators still searching for answers about his disappearance. Thomas Campbell Bolling Von Goetz, 58, remains missing after members of the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office searched the Maycroft Road area in Avenue on Friday, Oct. 9, without finding him. According to investigators, Von Goetz voluntarily left his home on Aug. 16 and was believed to have last been seen walking in the area before he was reported missing. The search followed an announcement from the Sheriff's Office on Th…

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

Rockville, MD

Breaking News

CSX Train Car Tips Onto Side Near Montgomery College, Halting Rail Traffic (Photos) A train car wound up on its side in Maryland on Monday afternoon, Oct. 12, bringing rail traffic to a halt near a college campus. The derailment happened along the CSX tracks near Mannakee Street, across from Montgomery College's Rockville campus, where a single train car slipped off the rails, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer. Crews are investigating the train derailment in Rockville on Monday afternoon. Twitter/@mcfrsPIO Emergency crews responded to investigate the derailment, which left the train car on its side but caused no injur…

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

Clifton-Fairfax Station, VA

Your Community

Got Milk? Truck Spills Its Load, Turns Clifton Road White In Dairy Disaster (Photos) There's no use crying over spilled milk, but Virginia drivers might have a few complaints after a truckload led to traffic delays in Fairfax County. A semi-truck lost its cargo along Henderson Road in Clifton on Monday, Oct. 12, leaving milk crates scattered across the pavement and forcing police to shut down a stretch of the roadway. The mess was enough to make anyone lactose intolerant. Photos shared by police show dozens of black milk crates spilling out of the back of the truck, with gallon jugs scattered across the road and milk coating the asphalt. The spill prompted police to close…

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

Perryville-Port Deposit, MD

Obituaries

Perryville Dad Found Dead After NFL Trip To Be Honored: 'Once A Shark, Always A Shark' The jersey will be retired, but No. 37 will still take the field for a Maryland football team mourning the death of one of its own after a trip to Cleveland ended in tragedy. The Maryland Sharks are retiring the jersey of Phoenix Phillips, a 24-year-old Perryville father whose body was recovered from the Cuyahoga River after he disappeared during a trip to Ohio to attend a Browns-Steelers football game. His teammates will wear patches bearing his number throughout the season, ensuring that Phillips remains part of the team every time the Sharks take the field. "As a team, we talk about bro…

by Zak Failla

10/12/2026

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