A Few Clouds 92°

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

Schools
Langley High School Math Teacher Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Student: Police Langley High School Math Teacher Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Student: Police
Langley High School Math Teacher Accused Of Inappropriate Contact With Student: Police A 38-year-old teacher is behind bars after allegedly having inappropriate contact with a student in Virginia. Reston resident Matthew Thorsen, a math teacher at Langley High School, is being held without bond following an investigation into inappropriate behavior involving a minor, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. On Tuesday, June 2, the School Resource Officer assigned to the building was notified about concerns involving a student and teacher, leading to the investigation by detectives from the Child Abuse Squad. It is alleged that Thorsen "engaged in unlawful and inapp…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Officer Shot While Investigating Indecent Exposure Report On Maryland Trail: (UPDATED) Officer Shot While Investigating Indecent Exposure Report On Maryland Trail: (UPDATED)
Officer Shot While Investigating Indecent Exposure Report On Maryland Trail: (Updated) A police officer in Maryland called to investigate a reported indecent exposure complaint on a busy Baltimore County trail was shot on Sunday morning. Shortly before 9 a.m. on June 7, officers were called to a trail off Milford Mill Road in Pikesville when they were fired upon by an armed subject, according to the Baltimore County Police Department. Officers from the Pikesville Precinct had been dispatched to investigate a suspicious person and an indecent exposure report when they came under gunfire, police said. One officer was struck and rushed to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center …

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Driver Fighting For Life After Truck Is Crushed In Maryland Crash (DEVELOPING) Driver Fighting For Life After Truck Is Crushed In Maryland Crash (DEVELOPING)
Driver Fighting For Life After Truck Is Crushed In Maryland Crash (Developing) A driver was critically injured Saturday morning after a violent crash left a box truck crushed beneath the rear of another truck in Prince George's County. Firefighters and rescue crews were called around 9:15 a.m. on June 6 to the 10900 block of Rhode Island Avenue in Beltsville, where multiple vehicles collided, according to the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department. When crews arrived, they found one person trapped inside a heavily damaged truck. Photos from the scene show the front of the vehicle mangled and partially wedged beneath the rear of another box truck. Rescuers worked…

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by Zak Failla
News
Child Was Present When Virginia Man Sexually Abused 8-Year-Old Girl: Prosecutors Child Was Present When Virginia Man Sexually Abused 8-Year-Old Girl: Prosecutors
Child Was Present When Virginia Man Sexually Abused 8-Year-Old Girl: Prosecutors A 49-year-old man will spend decades behind bars for sexually abusing a child under the age of 13 in Virginia, authorities announced. Aroldo Santos-Velasquez was sentenced in Loudoun County to the maximum term of 25 years in prison after being convicted of aggravated sexual battery of a child in Leesburg, according to the Commonwealth's Attorney. In May 2024, prosecutors say the Leesburg Police Department received a report of sexual assault from the child's mother. During the subsequent investigation, it was determined that Santos-Velasquez had sexually molested an eight-year-old girl …

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by Zak Failla
Real Estate
Falls Church Shopping Center Home To Harris Teeter Sells For $58 Million Falls Church Shopping Center Home To Harris Teeter Sells For $58 Million
Falls Church Shopping Center Home To Harris Teeter Sells For $58 Million The next time you stop at Harris Teeter for groceries or Starbucks for coffee at Barcroft Plaza, remember this: the Falls Church shopping center just sold for more than $58 million. JLL Capital Markets announced on Friday, June 5, that it arranged the $58.025 million sale of Barcroft Plaza, the busy retail center at Columbia Pike and Lincolnia Road, anchored by Harris Teeter. According to JLL, Federal Realty Investment Trust sold the 113,173-square-foot property to 11North Partners. JLL also arranged $35.95 million in acquisition financing through Bank of America. The nearly 10-acre shoppi…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Tiny Hitchhiker Rescued On I-395 By Virginia State Trooper During Late-Night Patrol Tiny Hitchhiker Rescued On I-395 By Virginia State Trooper During Late-Night Patrol
Tiny Hitchhiker Rescued On I-395 By Virginia State Trooper During Late-Night Patrol A tiny black kitten found itself in one of the last places it should have been: dodging traffic on I-395 in Northern Virginia. Instead of becoming a tragic highway story, it got a fairy-tale ending. Virginia State Police say a passing motorist spotted the kitten near the King Street area of I-395 in Alexandria shortly before midnight on Friday, June 5, and called for help. At approximately 11:54 p.m., a trooper responded and safely rescued the estimated 4-week-old kitten from the interstate, according to police. The tiny feline was then transported to a nearby animal hospital, where it re…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Man Dies After Nitrous Tank Explodes Near Newly Purchased Race Car: Fire Marshal Maryland Man Dies After Nitrous Tank Explodes Near Newly Purchased Race Car: Fire Marshal
Maryland Man Dies After Nitrous Tank Explodes Near Newly Purchased Race Car: Fire Marshal What started as an exciting purchase ended in tragedy Friday night in Cecil County. Thomas Logue, 33, was critically injured when a nitrous oxide cylinder exploded near a recently purchased race car outside his Elkton home, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. The blast happened shortly before 8:30 p.m. on June 5 at a residence on Walnut Grove Road. By the end of the night, Logue was dead. Investigators say the vehicle had recently been purchased for racing and was equipped with a nitrous oxide system designed to boost engine performance. At some point Friday night, …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teen Charged As Adult After Threatening Student With Knife At Maryland School, Sheriff Says Teen Charged As Adult After Threatening Student With Knife At Maryland School, Sheriff Says
Teen Charged As Adult After Threatening Student With Knife At Maryland School, Sheriff Says A teenager in Southern Maryland is facing serious charges after allegedly threatening another student with a knife during an altercation at Great Mills High School on Friday. Deputies from the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office were called to the building on June 5 to investigate reports of threats that were made by one student targeting another. Investigators say the student was confronted by a 16-year-old suspect who was brandishing a knife. The teen was able to leave the area and notified administrators, who contacted the sheriff's office. The suspect, who will not be identified due to …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Accused Of Threatening Hospital Staff With Knife Runs From Officers At Shady Grove: Police Man Accused Of Threatening Hospital Staff With Knife Runs From Officers At Shady Grove: Police
Man Accused Of Threatening Hospital Staff With Knife Runs From Officers At Shady Grove: Police A man who allegedly threatened hospital workers in Maryland with a knife made a valiant effort to evade his arrest, but ultimately wound up in custody. Around 2:30 p.m. on Friday, June 5, officers from the Montgomery County Department of Police were called to Shady Grove Hospital, where they were confronted by a man brandishing a blade and making threats toward staff members in the triage area. When officers attempted to take him into custody, he took off. Police say the suspect ran out of the emergency department and away from responding officers. Tasers were deployed during the cha…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Retired DC Officer Forgot His Glasses, Needed Help Reading $1 Million Lottery Win Retired DC Officer Forgot His Glasses, Needed Help Reading $1 Million Lottery Win
Retired DC Officer Forgot His Glasses, Needed Help Reading $1 Million Lottery Win A retired DC police officer knew something was up when he scanned a Maryland Lottery scratch-off in Hyattsville and saw what appeared to be a whole lot of zeroes staring back at him. The problem? He didn't have his glasses. Standing inside Chillum Wine & Spirits on Eastern Avenue, the District resident watched the Lottery scanner flash a message that immediately caught his attention. At first, he thought he was looking at three zeroes. Then he noticed three more. "It looked like three zeros, and then I saw three more zeros," he told Maryland Lottery officials after claiming a $1 m…

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by Zak Failla
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