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Wednesday, jun 18

Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

zfailla@dailyvoice.com

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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

News

Covid-19: Hudson Valley Sees New Increase In Cases; Latest Breakdown By County The Hudson Valley has seen a rapid rise in new COVID-19 cases as the positive infection rate took a slight dip for the first time in several weeks, back below 3.50 percent as the virus continues to surge. For more than a week, the Hudson Valley has reported an average of more than 20 new cases per 100,000 residents daily, with that number rising from 23.99 on Saturday, Nov. 27 to 25.56, according to the most recent update from the state Department of Health. During that same stretch, the positive infection rate has risen from 3.39 percent on Nov. 27 to 3.49 percent, as the number of new cas…

by Zak Failla

12/01/2021

News

Covid-19: 'This Time, Unlike Last Year, We’re Not Defenseless,' Hochul Says Of New Variant Gov. Kathy Hochul cautioned that New York is bracing for the new Omicron COVID-19 variant, declaring that the state will be ready for it when it does. Hochul said during a COVID-19 briefing this week that the new variant is being closely monitored by state health officials, including the state testing center at Wadsworth Labs in Albany, and while Omicron is a concern, New York now has more tools to combat it than at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020. Earlier story - COVID-19: First Case Of New Omicron Variant Identified In United States “We’re fully monitoring it - but the diff…

by Zak Failla

12/01/2021

News

Westchester Man Charged In 1999 Cold Case Murder Of Teen Girl More than two decades after a 13-year-old girl was killed in New York, a suspect from Westchester has been apprehended and is facing murder charges, authorities announced. Joseph Martinez, age 49, of New Rochelle, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder for his role in the February 1999 slaying of 13-year-old Minerliz Soriano in the Bronx. Martinez was taken into custody by NYPD investigators on Monday, Nov. 29, 22 years after Soriano was found strangled to death in a Bronx dumpster after she was last seen leaving Bronxdale Middle School in 1999. Investigators said that So…

by Zak Failla

12/01/2021

News

Covid-19: New Data Shows Rise In Deaths At CT Nursing Homes With the number of new COVID-19 infections on the rise across Connecticut, the state has reported a fresh spike in the number of virus-related cases and deaths at area nursing homes, according to newly released data. In the past two weeks, there have been at least a dozen newly-confirmed COVID-19-related deaths in Connecticut, the largest number since the middle of the summer. In total, according to the Department of Health, there were 125 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 among nursing home residents between Wednesday, Nov. 10 and Tuesday, Nov. 23. Sixty-seven staff members at Connec…

by Zak Failla

12/01/2021

Police & Fire

12 Busted By Suffolk County Sheriff For Alleged Intoxicated Driving Over Thanksgiving A man with a child in the car and an Uber driver were among 12 who were busted for alleged impaired driving on Long Island during the Thanksgiving holiday, the Suffolk County Sheriff announced. One of the 12 charged was driving intoxicated with a child in the front seat, according to authorities. For more on that arrest, click here. Other DWI arrests: On Nov. 24, Uber driver Ezio Casimirri, Jr., age 46, of Bellport, was stopped for speeding on Nichols Road north of the Greenbelt Parkway on his way to pick up a customer. A subsequent breathalyzer found that his blood alcohol concentration…

by Zak Failla

12/01/2021

News

Covid-19: Positivity Rate In CT Highest In Months, Lamont Says; Breakdown Of Cases By County The positive COVID-19 infection rate in Connecticut has ballooned to nearly 6 percent, the highest rate in months as the winter wave of new cases continues. In his latest update, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said that the daily positive COVID-19 infection rate rose to 5.96 percent, the highest in 10 months, up from the 5.25 percent the previous day. In total, there were 15,224 COVID-19 tests administered on Monday, Nov. 29, resulting in 907 laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus for the elevated positive infection rate. Eleven more COVID-19 patients were hospitalized over the weekend, brin…

by Zak Failla

11/30/2021

News

Long Island MS-13 Member Known As 'Shadow' Admits To Role In Four Homicides A 23-year-old street gang member on Long Island will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after admitting to his role in four separate homicides of perceived enemies of MS-13. Raul Ponce, also known as “Shadow,” of Hempstead, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the deaths of Bryan Steven Cho Lemus and Julio Cesar Espantzay-Gonzales; and two counts of manslaughter for the deaths of Nelson Rodriguez and Osmin Campos-Sandoval, the Nassau County DA announced. When he is sentenced on Jan. 25, 2022, acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith said that Ponce is expected to r…

by Zak Failla

11/30/2021

Police & Fire

Two Teens Taken Into Custody After Reports Of Firearm In CT HS; Prop Gun Recovered A social media prank gone wrong that led to a school lockdown in Connecticut and a wide-reaching police search led to the apprehension of two teens who were busted with a prop gun inside the building. Officers from the Meriden Police Department in New Haven County responded to Platt High School at approximately 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 30, after a social media video went viral involving students in possession of what appeared to be a firearm. Original story - CT School Locked Down As Police Investigate Reports Of Student With Gun According to police, the video, believed to have been…

by Zak Failla

11/30/2021

News

Covid-19: Pfizer CEO Says New Vaccine May Be Needed For Omicron, Anti-Viral Pills Are Effective Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that his company is preparing to tackle new COVID-19 variants, and that he expects the company’s treatment pill will be effective in helping avoid severe illness or possibly death if one get infected. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Omicron poses a “very high” global risk, with the likelihood it is more transmissible than previous strains. The new variant has nearly three dozen mutations that reportedly decrease antibody protection. WHO described Omicron as a “highly divergent variant with a high number of mutations ... some of which are conce…

by Zak Failla

11/30/2021

Politics

Cuomo Accused Of Throwing Fruit At Staffers As AG Releases Disgraced Ex-Gov's Video Testimony The “toxic workplace environment” disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo fostered before resigning from office included demeaning nicknames for staffers and flying fruit, according to new transcripts released by the New York Attorney General’s Office. In the past two weeks, AG Letitia James has been releasing transcripts and exhibits from the independent investigation into sexual harassment allegations that led to Cuomo’s resignation in August. On Monday, Nov. 29 the latest release included interviews with more than half the woman who accused him of sexual misconduct, video of Cuomo's top aides…

by Zak Failla

11/30/2021

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