Top Stories in April: Police Pursuit, Lyrid Meteor, Restaurant Closing and a Car Crash

A few stories caught the attention of Greater Alexandria Patch readers this month. Here are the top 10 stories on the site from April.

Once you're done reviewing the list, let us know if you're surprised by this month's top stories. Which story had you talking to neighbors and co-workers at the water cooler the next day?

10. Construction on Fort Hunt Road Trail Begins

The Fairfax County Park Authority started construction Monday on the Fort Hunt Road trail.

Crews will install 3,150 linear feet of eight-foot wide asphalt trail along Fort Hunt Road in Mount Vernon District Park. It will connect the new trail section to the sidewalk near Quander Road at the southern end and the sidewalk at Martha Washington Library at the northern end.

An additional 350 linear feet of six-foot wide asphalt trail will connect the new trail to the parking lot for the Mount Vernon RECenter.

9. To Be Thai Closing April 27

Huntington Thai restaurant To Be Thai closed its doors on April 27.

The restaurant is currently located in the Huntington Gateway shopping center on Route 1. According to a restaurant employee, the owners decided not to renew their lease because it was too expensive. The owners have no plans to relocate.

8. Top 20: Walgreens, 7-Eleven Not Welcome, Babysitter Indicted, Affordable Housing, DNA in Crimes and a Long, Happy Marriage

Patch has 31 community sites in Virginia and D.C. Here are some of the top stories from around the region over the past week.

Affordable housing continues to be a major topic of discussion in Alexandria. The Virginia Department of Transportation sold Hunting Point, two eight-story apartment buildings, to a realty firm. Alexandria's City Council had asked that any purchaser not turn the buildings into luxury apartments that could displace its current tenants who require more affordable housing. That message was passed on to the new buyers, according to VDOT, but was not a condition of the sale.

7. WOW House for Sale in Greater Alexandria: Entertaining Guests in Style

This home in Greater Alexandria is sure to make you the best host in the neighborhood with a fantastic game room.

AOL Real Estate has this WOW house for sale in Greater Alexandria, located at 9051 Tower House Place.

6. Construction on Insight Huntington Metro Begins

Construction has begun on the Insight Huntington Metro project located at North Kings Highway and School Street in Alexandria.

According to the Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation (SFDC), Insight Property Group began construction in February on the apartment building on a 3.38-acre site. The site was re-planned as part of the Comprehensive Plan amendment for the Penn Daw area approved in April 2012. The estimated total project cost is $54 million.

5. UPDATED: All Lanes Clear After Crash Shuts Down I-495 South

All lanes were cleared at 3:20 p.m. after a vehicle just after 1:30 shut down all lanes of the outer loop of I-495 S near mile marker 44, just before the Dulles Toll Road/VA-267 (exit 45).

Back-ups and delays stretched three miles at the height of the shut-down.

4. Police Pursue Three Alexandria Men in Groveton

PURSUIT, Rolling Stone Way/Vantage Drive, 3/30/13, 12:35 a.m. An officer attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation on Groveton Street. The vehicle allegedly sped away. The officer was able to follow until the occupants ran away from the vehicle on Vantage Drive.

The helicopter and a K-9 team assisted in locating the occupants. Alexander Craft, 18, of Alexandria, was charged with speed to elude, driving without a license, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Keenan Strother, 26, of Alexandria, and Kibruysfa Degefa, 21, of Alexandria, were each charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

3. Lyrid Meteor Shower 2013 Peak is Here: Where and When to Watch

The Lyrid meteor shower 2013 peak is here, and while it'll be plenty chilly outside, the skies should be clear.

The skies have been largely empty of visible meteor showers since the Quadrantids of early January, but the shooting stars of the Lyrids have been a reliable spectacle for, oh, 2,600 years or so.

2. Five Foreclosures for Sale in Greater Alexandria and Mount Vernon

Foreclosures nationwide are on the decline, writes Amrita Jayakumar in the Washington Post. In Virginia, the number of homes in foreclosure is down more than 42 percent from where it was a year ago, according to the report released Tuesday by LPS Applied Analytics, a market research company.

The state has foreclosures resources for Virginia homeowners.

Here are five bank-owned homes on the market in the Greater Alexandria and Mount Vernon area for more than $300,000.

1. Aurora Borealis: 'Northern Lights' Show May be Opening Act for Lyrid Meteor Shower

A solar flare directed at Earth may provide a "spectacular" display of Northern Lights Saturday evening, and prime viewing could be in the skies over Nothern Virginia.

The aurora borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights, can be seen as colorful wisps in the skies, most often greens with areas of pinks, blues and yellows.