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

Rockville, MD
Breaking News
Mike Locksley Out At Maryland As Police Called On Student Reporters Covering His Exit Mike Locksley Out At Maryland As Police Called On Student Reporters Covering His Exit Mike Locksley Out At Maryland As Police Called On Student Reporters Covering His Exit
Mike Locksley Out At Maryland As Police Called On Student Reporters Covering His Exit Maryland football had just lost its head coach. Hours later, two student journalists trying to cover the fallout found themselves dealing with police instead of players. The unusual encounter unfolded outside Jones-Hill House in College Park, after University of Maryland officials announced that head coach Mike Locksley was stepping down effective immediately following a five-game losing streak. Nolan Rogalski and Jude Wilkenfeld, who cover Maryland athletics for Testudo Times, were waiting outside the football practice facility hoping to speak with players about the coaching shakeup when a…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Even Death Didn't Stop Annapolis Man From Billing Medicare Millions: Feds Even Death Didn't Stop Annapolis Man From Billing Medicare Millions: Feds Even Death Didn't Stop Annapolis Man From Billing Medicare Millions: Feds
Even Death Didn't Stop Annapolis Man From Billing Medicare Millions: Feds Even death couldn't stop a Maryland laboratory owner from cashing in on the COVID-19 pandemic, as he billed Medicare millions of dollars for medical tests on nursing-home residents who were no longer alive. Patrick Britton-Harr, 42, of Annapolis, was convicted on Wednesday, Oct. 21, of orchestrating an $18.7 million fraud scheme that helped bankroll a lavish lifestyle complete with a waterfront mansion and a six-figure Porsche. According to federal prosecutors, Britton-Harr preyed on nursing homes desperate for COVID-19 testing in 2020, offering his services before quietly billing Medicare …

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by Zak Failla
Silver Spring, MD
Breaking News
'90s Alt-Rockers Sponge Robbed Of Guitars After Silver Spring Concert: 'It Happened Again' '90s Alt-Rockers Sponge Robbed Of Guitars After Silver Spring Concert: 'It Happened Again' '90s Alt-Rockers Sponge Robbed Of Guitars After Silver Spring Concert: 'It Happened Again'
'90s Alt-Rockers Sponge Robbed Of Guitars After Silver Spring Concert: 'It Happened Again' A popular '90s rock band is scrambling to replace several stolen guitars after thieves targeted its equipment following a concert in Maryland, marking what the musicians say is the second time they've been victimized. Detroit-based alternative rock band Sponge, best known for its hits "Plowed" and "Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain)," reported the theft on Wednesday, Oct. 21, after performing with Candlebox at The Fillmore Silver Spring. "It happened again, we got robbed!!!" the band posted on Facebook. According to published reports, the guitars were stolen from a trailer outside a Holiday…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Man Once Jailed For Assaulting Cop Accused Of Opening Fire On National Guard Troops: Feds DC Man Once Jailed For Assaulting Cop Accused Of Opening Fire On National Guard Troops: Feds DC Man Once Jailed For Assaulting Cop Accused Of Opening Fire On National Guard Troops: Feds
DC Man Once Jailed For Assaulting Cop Accused Of Opening Fire On National Guard Troops: Feds A convicted violent offender who once received an eight-year prison sentence for crimes including assaulting a police officer allegedly opened fire on a crowded DC sidewalk, sending bystanders scrambling for safety as gunshots rang out outside a popular nightlife spot. Jerrell Lamont Jackson, 41, is facing new charges following a shootout with National Guard troops on Sunday, Oct. 18, outside Café 8 in the 400 block of 8th Street SE in Barracks Row that left a Georgia National Guardsman shot in the leg and Jackson wounded in the abdomen. National Guard members (circled at left) arriv…

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by Zak Failla
Hyattsville, MD
Breaking News
MS-13 Gang Leader On Terror Watchlist Arrested In Maryland After Years On ICE's Radar: Feds MS-13 Gang Leader On Terror Watchlist Arrested In Maryland After Years On ICE's Radar: Feds MS-13 Gang Leader On Terror Watchlist Arrested In Maryland After Years On ICE's Radar: Feds
MS-13 Gang Leader On Terror Watchlist Arrested In Maryland After Years On ICE's Radar: Feds A high-ranking MS-13 gang leader on the Justice Department's terrorist watchlist was arrested in Maryland after previously being encountered by federal agents during a homicide investigation in Texas, according to immigration officials. Franklin Ariel Espinal-Cabrera, 29, a Salvadoran national known as "Inconforme," was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Hyattsville, the agency announced. ICE identified Espinal-Cabrera as the "First Word Leader" of the Coronado Locos Salvatruchos clique of MS-13, a transnational gang designated as a foreign terrorist organi…

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by Zak Failla
La Plata, MD
Obituaries
Charles County Loses Longtime Fire Service Leader, Local Business Owner Bernard Winkler Jr. Charles County Loses Longtime Fire Service Leader, Local Business Owner Bernard Winkler Jr. Charles County Loses Longtime Fire Service Leader, Local Business Owner Bernard Winkler Jr.
Charles County Loses Longtime Fire Service Leader, Local Business Owner Bernard Winkler Jr. A longtime Maryland volunteer firefighter and former department president who spent more than six decades serving his community is being remembered for his leadership, generosity, and dedication to fellow first responders. Bernard R. Winkler Jr., a former president of the La Plata Volunteer Fire Department in Charles County, died on Monday, Oct. 19, the department announced. Known as "BR," Winkler joined the department in 1959 and remained a fixture in the local fire service for more than six decades. During his tenure, he held numerous leadership positions, including president, vice presi…

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by Zak Failla
Frederick, MD
Obituaries
Adamstown Taxi Driver Who Made History Dies In Crash After Decades Serving Community Adamstown Taxi Driver Who Made History Dies In Crash After Decades Serving Community Adamstown Taxi Driver Who Made History Dies In Crash After Decades Serving Community
Adamstown Taxi Driver Who Made History Dies In Crash After Decades Serving Community For more than two decades, a Guatemalan immigrant who made history as Frederick's first bilingual cab driver helped Spanish-speaking passengers feel at home in Maryland, one ride at a time. Victor Arevalo, 72, who spent 31 years building a life in Frederick County and became a familiar face behind the wheel of a local taxi, was killed in a crash near his Adamstown home on Monday, Oct. 19, leaving behind a family and community mourning his sudden death. Arevalo was driving a Honda Odyssey when he struck an equipment trailer parked along Mountville Road shortly before 2 p.m., according to the…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Baltimore Assault Victim Dies Five Days After Attack As Suspect Faces Upgraded Charges: Police Baltimore Assault Victim Dies Five Days After Attack As Suspect Faces Upgraded Charges: Police Baltimore Assault Victim Dies Five Days After Attack As Suspect Faces Upgraded Charges: Police
Baltimore Assault Victim Dies Five Days After Attack As Suspect Faces Upgraded Charges: Police A 38-year-old Baltimore man accused of attacking another man in Maryland is facing potentially upgraded charges after the victim died in the hospital five days later, authorities announced. Eric Clayton Cooke was arrested without incident on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the 4900 block of Hamilton Avenue in Baltimore, according to police. Investigators said Cooke was wanted in connection with an aggravated assault involving 34-year-old Breon Turner in the 1900 block of Ramsey Street on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Turner was hospitalized following the attack but died on Monday, Oct. 19, police said. Cooke …

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Inmate Gets More Prison Time After Homemade Shank Discovered In Cell: Prosecutors Maryland Inmate Gets More Prison Time After Homemade Shank Discovered In Cell: Prosecutors Maryland Inmate Gets More Prison Time After Homemade Shank Discovered In Cell: Prosecutors
Maryland Inmate Gets More Prison Time After Homemade Shank Discovered In Cell: Prosecutors Where there's smoke... sometimes there's more than fire. A broken mop handle turned into a six-inch shank has landed a Maryland inmate in even more trouble after correctional officers discovered the makeshift weapon hidden among his belongings. Charles Henry Thompson Jr., 32, of Lexington Park, was sentenced to an additional seven-and-a-half years in prison for possessing the homemade weapon at the St. Mary's County Detention and Rehabilitation Center, prosecutors announced on Wednesday, Oct. 21. The additional prison time will be served consecutively to a 50-year-and-six-month sentence Th…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Manassas Woman Tased After Repeatedly Reaching Under Seat During Traffic Stop: Sheriff Manassas Woman Tased After Repeatedly Reaching Under Seat During Traffic Stop: Sheriff Manassas Woman Tased After Repeatedly Reaching Under Seat During Traffic Stop: Sheriff
Manassas Woman Tased After Repeatedly Reaching Under Seat During Traffic Stop: Sheriff A Virginia woman wasn't giving up on reaching beneath her car seat without a fight, and it ultimately took a sheriff's deputy using a Taser to get her into handcuffs, authorities said. Over the weekend, a deputy from the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office stopped Manassas resident Natasha Cook, 42, for speeding on Catlett Road. What began as a routine traffic stop escalated when Cook reportedly gave conflicting answers, appeared to be shaking, and refused to get out of her Dodge after the deputy noticed her bloodshot eyes. Cook then allegedly began repeatedly reaching behind and beneath her …

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by Zak Failla
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