Before 2011 becomes only a distant memory, let's take a quick look at some of the top Fairfax City news stories from last year. You picked these stories by reading and sharing them.

The 5 Most-Read Breaking News Stories of 2011

1. Torrential Storms Bring Flash Flood to Fairfax: Early September rains flooded streets and creeks, damaging roads and killing a Vienna boy and a Great Falls man. You contributed your photos and info to Patch's hour-by-hour coverage of the weather damage. This updated coverage, the recap and your photos made this easily the most-read Fairfax City Patch story of 2011.
2. State Trooper Hits the Auld Shebeen: A state trooper lost control of his cruiser and ran into the Auld Shebeen in downtown Fairfax. No one, thankfully, was injured.
3. Truck Driver Dead After Going Wrong Way on Braddock: This incident closed off Braddock west of Route 123 and backed up traffic. Patch rushed out to snap photos of the wreckage and get a first-hand glimpse of the scene.
4. Serial Cutter Slashes Woman's Butt at Fair Oaks Mall: This butt slasher character was scaring shoppers all over Northern Virginia. Armed with what police suspected to be a box cutter, he targeted young women in malls. When police finally got a lead to who he was, he fled the country and was later apprehended in Peru.
5. I-66 Closed for 9/11 Tribute: Motorists just didn't understand why a mass of motorcycles chose late August to make their annual journey from Somerset, Pa. to Washington and then to New York City. Over 1,800 motorcycles shut down some of NoVa's heaviest traveled routes just before rush hour.

Special mention: Earthquake in Fairfax!

The 10 Most-Read News and Feature Stories of 2011

1. Walmart Opens Next to Bloom: The announcement, follow-up and official opening stories sparked discussion and countless emails to the editor. Everyone wanted to know when Walmart was planning to open. And what would happen to Bloom (it plans to close in a few weeks).
2. Renovation of University Mall in the Works: Plans to redo the shopping center at Braddock and Route 123 had some neighbors excited... some not so much.
3. MTV Features Fairfax Woman Who is Allergic to Everything: This recent Fairfax High School grad has to watch what she eats and touches.
4. How You Voted: Fairfax City-ans sounded off on national and local issues, like whether Obama deserves four more years and whether Joe Paterno should have been fired.
5. Piero's Corner Opens in Fairfax: Foodie Nancy Loughin introduces one of the newest restaurants to open in Fairfax City. Piero's took over the old Carlos O'Kelly's location. See her take on the city's only drive-thru cheesecake spot and Vietnamese cuisine in the TT Reynold's building. What's next? A hometown favorite, Coyote Grill. Stay tuned.
6. Friend, Teachers Remember Michael: Parents and players were horrified when Michael Santiago collapsed during an April rugby match. The 17-year-old PVI senior passed away days later in a Fredericksburg hospital.
7. Morgan Harrington Murder Linked to Fairfax City Rape: The murder of a 20-year-old after she disappeared from a Charlottesville Metallic concert hits close to home. Police have linked Morgan's death with the 2005 rape of a woman walking home from Giant in Fairfax City.
8. Kamp Washington Developers Sue City: Developers didn't like that their two-year's worth of work planning a new development for Fairfax City's Kamp Washington area didn't pass the council. Some neighbors saluted the city's decision for fear the development would make traffic issues worse.
9. Students Say Mason Police 'Biased, Untrustworthy': George Mason University released a scathing report about the Mason community's thoughts on the school's police department. Let's just say that many of the students aren't so pleased with their officers.
10. Lamb Center Future Hangs on Supreme Court Appeal:Every Lamb Center story did well in 2011, but none like the latest on the Lamb Center's court appeal and the poll where Patch readers sounded off on the center's future at Fairfax Circle.

What's in store for 2012? Well we've got more on the Lamb Center, a new budget season, council and mayor elections, the hunt for a new schools superintendent, new development and businesses coming to the city and lots more. 

2012 Honorable Mention: Truro Prays for Guidance in Loss of Litigation. This story is already a top contender in the most-read list for 2012. Check it out.