2016 was a dumpster fire of a year, but it wasn’t all hot garbage. Here are a few stories that happened in the last 365 days that are actually worth remembering.

OneOrlando Fund paid $27 million to Pulse families and survivors The OneOrlando Fund has distributed $27.4 million to the survivors and families of the 49 victims killed at the gay nightclub Pulse. Read more.
Medical marijuana is legalized in Florida On Nov. 8, Florida voters approved the state constitutional amendment to effectively legalize medical marijuana. Read more.
Audubon Park Garden District won the 2016 Great American Main Street Award Huge congratulations to the Audubon Park Garden District, which won the 2016 Great American Main Street Award in May. Read more.
Pulse angels blocked the Westboro Baptist Church protest If the Westboro Baptist Church thought Orlando was going to take its anti-gay message quietly, it was sorely wrong. Read more.
George Zimmerman was punched in the face According to WFTV, George Zimmerman called 911 after a man overheard him boasting that he shot Trayvon Martin in a sad attempt to pick up a woman at Gator’s Riverside Grille. Read more.
Stevie Wonder performed with Obama at a Kissimmee rally The Nov. 6 rally for Hillary Clinton in Kissimmee, Florida featured not only a speech from President Barack Obama, but also an exclusive performance from 25 time Grammy-award winner Stevie Wonder. Read more.
Joey Fatone opened a hot dog stand in the Florida Mall Joey Fatone says he was always referred to as “The Fat One,” so naturally the former ‘N Sync member is opened a hot dog stand in Orlando’s Florida Mall, called Fat Ones. Read more.
Florida Amendment 1 on solar power rejected by voters Florida’s Amendment 1, also known as the Florida Solar Energy Subsidies and Personal Solar Use Initiative, was rejected. Read more.
Orlando City Council approved the use of civil citations for small amounts of pot Orlando City Commissioners approved an initiative to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, giving police officers the discretion to issue civil citations instead of arresting people. Read more.
Michael J. Fox reunited with his DeLorean at Universal Studios Orlando While visiting Universal Studios Orlando in October, Actor Michael J. Fox, aka Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy, posed for a picture with Doc Brown and his former ride. Read more.
The Lake Eola Bandshell was painted with rainbow theme in honor of Pulse victims The Lake Eola Bandshell was given the rainbow treatment to honor the lives of the 49 people lost in the mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse this past summer. Read more.
Orange County commissioners voted down development east of Econ River In a stunning reversal, Orange County commissioners voted to reject a development east of the Econlockhatchee River that would have added 1,999 homes to the area and a potential bridge over the river. Read more.
Feld Entertainment retired circus elephants for all Ringling Bros. Feld Entertainment, the parent company of the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus, retired all of the elephants performing in its circuses in May 2016. Read more. Photo via Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Facebook
U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida’s death penalty system unconstitutional Five days after Florida executed Oscar Ray Bolin, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state’s death penalty system as unconstitutional because it gives more power to judges over juries on who decides capital sentences. Read more.
Pizza vending machines became a thing that exist in Orlando Nope, it’s not a space-age daydream: vending machines dispensing hot pizza pies exist in Florida. Read more.
The Hideaway Bar painted a new Prince tribute mural Local artist Andrew Spear extended his well-known mural at the Hideaway Bar on Virginia Drive with a new tribute piece to Prince. Read more.
A landscaper therapeutically ran over a Trump lawn sign in Orlando An Orlando landscaper decided to repeatedly run over a Donald Trump campaign sign, something many of us have only dreamt of. Read more.
People got Pulse tribute tattoos Orlando received overwhelming support following the tragic incident of June 12, with people donating everything from blood, time and resources to the victims and their families. Among everything else, we can add tribute tattoos to this list. Read more.
Winter Park got the go-ahead to build new library The city of Winter Park began construction on its $30 million library project in the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Read more.
Wahlburgers Orlando officially opened in downtown The wait is over for Orlandoans craving the good vibrations of a celebrity-endorsed burger: Wahlburgers finally opened its downtown Orlando restaurant. Read more.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson paid tribute to Orlando in the most science way possible While most people might post pictures of rainbows to social media, Neil deGrasse Tyson chose to break down the science behind the global symbol of LBGT pride instead. Read more.
Universal Orlando’s parent company donated $1 million to OneOrlando fund In response to the June 12 mass shooting at Pulse nightclub, Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal division donated $1 million to the OneOrlando fund. Read more.
With arms wide open, Scott Stapp met this dolphin at SeaWorld today Scott Stapp, the former Creed frontman and Orlando native, stopped by Discovery Cove, March 24, to swim around with this dolphin, according to SeaWorld. Read more.
Frosty’s Christmastime Lounge officially opened in downtown Orlando Rip the sleeves off your best Christmas sweater because Frosty’s Christmastime Lounge, a bar where Christmas lives forever, officially opened in downtown Orlando in August. Read more.
SeaWorld put an end to orca breeding program It’s the end of an era for SeaWorld. Read more.
Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer reached his final form Seems like yesterday when Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced to the world that he would be growing a beard on his iconically polished and otherwise undisturbed face. Read more.
Disney donated $1 million to Hurricane Matthew relief efforts The Walt Disney Company has donated $1 million in aid to those affected by Hurricane Matthew. The donations were sent to the American Red Cross and Save the Children, two very active charities in rebuilding efforts. Read more.
Two Orlando hospitals didn’t bill Pulse shooting victims Two local hospitals that treated people involved with the mass shooting on June 12 at Pulse nightclub said they wouldn’t bill the victims. Read more.
There was a petition to rename Tropical Storm Hermine to Harambe In honor of the gorilla that was shot and killed after a child fell into its enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, a petition circulated to have the National Hurricane Center change the name of Tropical Storm Hermine to Tropical Storm Harambe. Read more.
Lazy Moon Pizza opened a Mills 50 location The popular UCF-area pizza joint Lazy Moon Pizza, known for slices large enough to wear as a festive cape, opened its new Mills 50 location on Nov. 8. Read more.
Disney Springs got a Sprinkles cupcake ATM On May 15, Sprinkles opened at Disney Springs and in sweet, sweet victory for this city, brought a cupcake ATM to the fictitious shores of Lake Buena Vista. Read more.
Orlando City Commission voted to buy Constitution Green Park for $5.9 million Orlando City Commission voted on Jan. 25 to approve the purchase of Constitution Green Park and the giant oak tree that sits on the 1.87-acre property. Read more.
UCF banned hoverboards from campus Hoverboards, wheeled chunks of plastic that have been known to set on fire, have officially been banned from the University of Central Florida campus. Read more.
Domu, the new ramen restaurant, opened in East End Market Domu, the somewhat mysterious restaurant at East End Market, opened this October. Here’s the gist: They serve ramen. And their bar is looks spectacular. #allgoldeverything Read more.
Kadence, new restaurant by Kappo founders, opened in Audubon Park The restaurant, called “Kadence,” seats just 20 people in two distinct areas: one devoted to sushi omakase and another aimed at Kappo-style omakase dinners. Read more.
Blue Bamboo, an avant-garde jazz club, got a well-deserved transformation Blue Bamboo’s 5,000-square-foot warehouse may not look like much from the outside, but the cement and drywall interior has been transformed with original artwork, red carpet and cocktail tables, creating a credible music club with unexpectedly excellent acoustics. Read more.
Tesla’s ‘SolarRoof’ came to Florida Tesla Motors subsidiary SolarCity opened an operations center in Clermont, Florida. The new operations center created around 100 new jobs in both sales and installation. Read more.
Solar-powered hidden Mickey took shape at Walt Disney World In 2015, Duke Energy and Disney formed a partnership to build a 5-megawatt solar farm near Epcot. This year, the panels formed a very familiar shape. Read more.
First commercial flight from U.S. to Cuba in over 50 years landed in Havana Just days after the death of former leader Fidel Castro, the first commercial flight in over 50 years landed in Havana, Cuba on Nov. 28. Read more.
Amazon Restaurants launched in some Orlando areas today Through the Amazon Prime Now app, you can now order food at 42 (!) different restaurants in Orlando, and have it delivered (a la GrubHub or OrderUp) right to your office or home during their normal business hours. Read more.
J.K. Rowling paid tribute to Pulse victims in new ‘Harry Potter’ comic Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling teamed up with legendary comic artist Jim Lee for an entry in the upcoming book Love is Love, a 144-page anthology dedicated to the victims of the mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub on June 12. Read more.
The Propagation Yelp page died Propagation, the Mills 50 furniture store and coffee shop that refused to offer WiFi, closed their doors for good this May. Read more.
Universal hired 2,500 new employees and bumped hourly pay to $10 On May 2, Universal Studios announced that it hired 2,500 more full-time, part-time and seasonal team members for this summer season. Read more.
SeaWorld’s Mako hypercoaster opened on June 10 SeaWorld’s long-awaited hypercoaster Mako opened Friday, June 10. Mako is billed as Orlando’s “tallest, fastest, and longest” coaster, and serves as the centerpiece of Shark Wreck Reef, the new 2-acre shark encounter area. Read more.
NFL Pro Bowl comes to Orlando The NFL has decided to move its all-star Pro Bowl event from Hawaii to Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, according to a report from Bloomberg. Read more.
Daytona Beach witnessed its largest spring break crowds in 10 years What’s better than dealing with large crowds of drunken college students? Dealing with a record-breaking crowd of drunken college students. Read more.
Universal’s Incredible Hulk coaster reopened Almost one year after the Incredible Hulk coaster closed for refurbishments at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, the popular thrill ride is officially smashing again. Read more.
One of you decided to run errands in a full Orlando Magic uniform There wasn’t much more to report here, other than someone was “Shaqtin a fool” on a May 27. Read more.
Milk District became part of Orlando’s Main Streets program As of this October, local businesses in the Milk District are officially a part of Orlando’s Main Streets Program. Read more.
Sanctum Cafe announced plans to double in size Good news for lovers of vegan food and haters of waiting: Construction is underway at the Sanctum Cafe to expand, doubling their current space. Read more.