Top Stories in April on Mount Vernon Patch: George Washington, Cicadas, Costco and Crime

Mount Vernon Patch just started a new month on Wednesday. We decided to see: Which stories caught readers' attention last month, in April?

Turns out George Washington is very popular. So are cicadas, crime and Costco.

Drumroll, please. The top stories in April on Mount Vernon Patch were, in reverse order (just click on the headline to read the entire story):

10. Mount Vernon Commercial Building Fire Deemed Accidental: The fire that broke out Sunday afternoon at the commercial building housing Friendly's Rent-A-Car located at 8145 Richmond Hwy. in Mount Vernon was determined to be an accidental electrical fire.

9. Speakers Urge Fairfax County to Restore Human Services Funding: Human services were on most people’s minds Wednesday night during the second marathon public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan. A majority of the 50 or so speakers at the second of three hearings this week urged the Board of Supervisors to restore funding to services for the county’s most vulnerable residents.

8. : 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.

7. When Are Cicadas Hatching in Mount Vernon? Within the next few weeks, hordes of insects will awaken from a 17-year slumber, crawl out of the earth, shed their skins, and set the entire East Coast abuzz in a plague-like event enthusiasts have dubbed the “Cicadapocalypse” after the bugs' name, cicadas.

6. Police: Woman Robbed by Juvenile in Mount Vernon: A 44-year-old was retrieving her cell phone from her vehicle when a juvenile brandished a knife and demanded her purse. The victim fled and was not injured. Several officers, the helicopter, and a K-9 team searched for the suspect. The 13-year-old suspect was located and charged with armed robbery.

5. Last Chance: Get Your George Washington's Rye Whiskey Thursday:  The Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens will start selling the unaged George Washington Rye Whiskey at 10 a.m. Thursday. The whiskey was made at George Washington’s reconstructed distillery, and more than 1,100 bottles of the whiskey are available for sale at $95 per bottle.

4. Two Mount Vernon Residents Charged with Failure to Provide Adequate Care to Animals: Two Mount Vernon residents were arrested Sunday, charged with failure to provide adequate care to pets. Fairfax County Animal Control officers were initially called to the 8300 block of Brockham Drive in Mount Vernon at 10:55 a.m. Saturday to check on the welfare of cats. Five cats and four turtles were seized and transported to an animal hospital.

3. Costco Hiring for Positions; No Opening Date Officially Announced: While a large sign at the work site of the soon-to-be new Costco at 7940 Richmond Highway reads "Opening Spring 2013," like a lot of construction projects, the muddy, fenced location for the new mega-store looks as if it's going to take a little longer. In the meantime, the new Costco-to-be looks to be hiring, according to its Web site, which features a large list of job openings for the Richmond Highway location. 

2. WOW House for Sale in Mount Vernon: How About a Private Dock? If you need a place to park your boat in the comfort of your own home, take a look at this Mount Vernon home with a private dock. AOL Real Estate has details of this WOW house for sale in Mount Vernon, located at 4736 Neptune Drive.

1. Did George Washington Chop Down A Cherry Tree? Answers to some of the most common questions about Washington's life, provided by the Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens. 

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