The Islander

07/08/2025

07/08/2025

Cortez Stone Crab Festival 2025: After much thoughtful consideration, we have made the difficult decision not to host the Cortez Stone Crab Festival this year.

The aftermath of last year’s hurricanes brought significant challenges to our beloved historic village. Among the impacted was the Cortez Bait & Seafood office, which was flooded along with numerous other properties. In a community like Cortez, rich in heritage and protected as a historic district, permits, approvals, and construction projects are not only more complex but often take longer to complete.

Rather than rush forward with an event that deserves our full energy and attention, we have chosen instead to continue pouring our time, love, and resources into rebuilding and improving. Over the past nine months, our teams have been hard at work making long-overdue improvements to Cortez Kitchen, Swordfish Grill, Cortez Bait & Seafood, and N.E. Taylor Boatworks. Our owner, John, has not yet been able to return to his home, which was destroyed by floodwaters. This stands as a sobering reminder of just how deeply the storms impacted every level of our family-run operations.

This pause is not a goodbye. It is a recalibration. We are leaning into growth, resilience, and thoughtful progress, knowing that Cortez is on the cusp of inevitable changes as new development reaches our shores. Our goal is to preserve the heart and soul of commercial fishing in Cortez while evolving to meet what lies ahead.

The Cortez Stone Crab Festival has always been about honoring our hardworking stone crabbers, celebrating our commercial fishing roots, and gathering with our community. Sometimes, continuing that legacy starts by rebuilding the home front.

🎶 Stay tuned. This fall, we plan to introduce a "Mini Stone Crab Celebration" with live music and stone crab specials at both Cortez Kitchen and Swordfish Grill. Think small concert series, big flavor, and the same local love you have come to expect.

We thank you for your continued support, patience, and belief in what we are building, both literally and figuratively. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being part of the Cortez story.

-The Cortez Family of Businesses
Cortez Kitchen • Swordfish Grill & Tiki • Cortez Bait & Seafood • N.E. Taylor Boatworks

07/08/2025

The first piece of funding for rebuilding the Anna Maria City Pier walkway is locked in.

The city’s $1.25 million appropriation request to fund the walkway rebuild was included in the state’s new $117.4 billion budget that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law June 30 — only one day before going into effect.

https://www.islander.org/2025/07/state-delivers-1-25m-for-am-pier/

07/08/2025

A fishing trip turned into a life-threatening ordeal June 28 when a mechanical failure nearly sank a boat carrying three people west of Egmont Key, prompting a rescue by U.S. Coast Guard Station Cortez.

“We were about 35 miles offshore when the Coast Guard got to us,” said the vessel owner, Ti Jones of Pinellas Park. “We started taking on water and couldn’t figure out why.”
https://www.islander.org/2025/07/coast-guard-rescues-boaters-after-vessel-floods/

07/08/2025

Read the latest issue — in print or online at islander.org.

07/07/2025

07/04/2025

Happy Independence Day from The Islander. We were planning to be on Gulf Drive for the Anna Maria Island Privateers' July 4 parade today but the weather changed our plans — and probably your plans. So, we went into our archives and gathered just a few of our flag-themed photos over the years, including from Fourth celebrations. 🇺🇸

07/03/2025

🚧 Friendly Reminder, !
Starting July 7, FDOT will begin hydroseeding areas along Gulf of Mexico Drive as part of the ongoing hurricane recovery and grass restoration efforts. 🌱

Please help by avoiding parking or driving in these areas so the new grass can grow successfully!

More info: https://www.longboatkey.org/Home/Components/News/News/1564/17

07/03/2025

Did you know that July 1 marked the start of year-round tax exemptions on certain essential hurricane supplies. Instead of just a few weeks at the beginning of storm season, you will now be able to prep year-round, tax free!

HB7031 includes a list of all items that will be tax exempt year-round. The full list of disaster prep supplies can be found at mymanatee.org/storm