Long Beach's Most-Read Stories of 2016

It's safe to say that 2016 was quite a year. Celebrity deaths and an election like no other dominated the national headlines. But things were still busy in Long Beach. Here's the stories that Patch readers like you were most interested in.

10. Billy Crystal's Epic Tribute to Muhammad Ali: In June, world-famous boxer Muhammad Ali died. Long Beach native Billy Crystal, a longtime friend of the fighting legend, spoke at the boxer's funeral. He also shared a video of the speech he gave at Ali's retirement celebration.

9. Four Hospitalized After Atlantic Beach Crash: In March, a crash in East Atlantic Beach at Mohawk Avenue and Beech Street sent four to the hospital.

8. Long Beach Man Gets 10 Years for Rape of European Tourist: In October, Long Beach resident Dennis Edison was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 20 years of post-release supervision for the 2015 rape of a European tourist who was staying in his apartment. He drugged a woman from Germany who was staying at his apartment and raped her.

7. Gang Members Flooded Long Beach With Drugs: In March, 16 gang members were indicted on drug charges stemming from a drug ring that flooded Long Beach streets with narcotics, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The arrests were made after a two-year investigation, authorized by City Manager Jack Schnirman, during which law enforcement identified the "most prolific narcotics traffickers" in the Long Beach area, including numerous members and associates of the Latin Kings street gang, authorities said.

6. Drone Captures Shocking Footage at Long Beach: In July, Jason Belsky had his drone over the water filming part of the New York Surf Week competition, when he managed to capture footage of lightning striking the beach. The dramatic video was the talk of the town at the time.

5. Whale Sighting Off Long Beach: Another popular video this year, also captured by Jason Belsky, was of a whale in the water off Long Beach.

4. Safest Places to Live on Long Island: Long Beach residents were excited to find out in July where their city placed on the list of the safest places to live on Long Island. Don't worry, Long Beach made the list.

3. The Best Places to Catch Pokemon: When Pokemon Go was released early this year, Pokemon fever swept the country, and Long Beach was definitely not immune. People wanted to catch em' all, and this guide to some hot spots to do so was very popular.

2. Long Island UFO Sighting Map:When people weren't looking down at their phones to catch Pokemon, they were looking up to catch a glimpse of ET. This map of where Long Islanders have reported UFO sightings was incredibly popular this year.

1. Pit Bulls Kill Jack Russell Terrier at Lido Dog Park: The most-read story of 2016 was a sad one. In June, Jake, a 14-year-old Jack Russell terrier, was playing at the dog park in Lido when two dogs suddenly snapped and attacked her, according to a friend of Jake's owners. When Jake's owner tried to break up the fight and retrieve Jake, she got bit by one of the dogs. Jake died at the scene, and the attacking dogs' owners took off with their dogs while Jake's owner tried to comfort her, she said.

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