Ending gill net ban personal for Cortez matriarch

Plum Taylor spread butter on a slice of banana bread a neighbor brought over, poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down.
Sunlight streamed through the big living room window overlooking Sarasota Bay and the docks and fishing boats, their to and fro a constant in all her years in what she likes to call that “big ol’ shanty” at the end of 123rd Street West in the Cortez fishing village.
The 78-year-old matriarch had just heard about a Leon County judge’s decision to overturn the gill net ban that has been the bane of every Cortezian’s life and livelihood for the past two decades.
Hers and late husband Alcee’s included.
They’d poured themselves into the fight against the 1995 ballot amendment that brought about the ban and lost, a sting that lingers still.
So word of last week’s development in the Panhandle was a most welcome omen.
“It’s a start,” Plum said.
Read more Sunday in Mannix About Manatee on Bradenton.com