Top 10 Most Read Local Patch Stories Of 2017

SEATTLE, WA - Money, crime, sex, and ... earthquakes? The most popular Washington Patch stories of 2017 are diverse, but it's easy to see why each one got so much attention. Here are the top 10 most-read stories from the 16 Patch websites across Puget Sound (find yours here if you don't already know about it) - not necessarily the most important, just the most-read.

10. 12 Men Caught In Child Sex Sting In Tacoma - From April, this unfortunate story lists the dozen men from around Puget Sound who got caught in a Washington State Patrol "net nanny" child sexual exploitation sting.

9. Trump Impeachment March In Downtown Seattle Sunday - This July march was one of dozens that happened this year, but certainly wasn't the largest. We suspect people searching for "Trump impeachment" on Google drew extra attention to an otherwise ordinary story.

8. 'Suspicious' Fire Partially Destroys Bellevue Mosque - This tragic incident happened a few weeks after the MAPS mosque in Redmond was vandalized. This arson was allegedly committed by a man suffering from untreated mental health issues.

7. Costco Membership Fee Increase: How Much More You'll Pay - People don't like paying more for stuff for obvious reasons, so it's likely people were hate-reading this one.

6. Mercer Island Teen 'Kassie' Carter-Allensworth Reported As Runaway - Two teenagers - one the daughter of an Amazon executive, the other the son of a state lawmaker - ran away together earlier this fall. Everyone on the Eastside was following this saga.

5. May Day In Seattle 2017: A Guide To Planned Protests, Rallies - May Day is usually a big headache for the thousands of people who work in downtown Seattle. Makes sense they would want to have an idea of how the day would play out (pretty peaceful compared to other years).

4. Seattle Guitar Shop Has World's Most Expensive Amplifier For Sale - A quick followup on this story: soft rocker John Mayer ended up buying this.

3. Amazon 'Jobs Day' Event Aims To Hire 50,000 New Workers - This was a nationwide event, so job seekers all around the country were looking for information about how to apply.

2. $1,500 Car Tab Renewal: Puget Sound Residents Shocked By Fees - Oh boy, this is still a sore subject. KOMO news first reported on a Tesla owner who got hit with a $1,500 car tab renewal, the first of many shocking car tab bills that hit drivers this year due to the new Sound Transit tax (which a majority of us voted to approve!).

1. Risk Of Cascadia Quake Elevated As Puget Sound 'Slow Slip' Event Begins - Slow-slip will be here again in about two months, so read up about what to expect!

Photo: Seattle police watch over May Day demonstrations at Westlake Park in downtown Seattle on May 1, 2017.

Image by Neal McNamara/Patch