Acclaimed Florida developer gets down and dirty fighting over canal

By: Craig Pittman

Outlets: Florida Phoenix

Published: July 9, 2026

Words: 2,142

Last Updated: 1 week, 6 days ago

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In 1985, a book appeared called “Finest Kind: A Celebration of a Florida Fishing Village” by Ben Green. It depicted life in a Manatee County waterfront town named Cortez. Green, a native, bemoaned the forces pushing to change little Cortez to be like everywhere else in Florida.

If anyone were to reprint “Finest Kind” today, you could subtitle it, “What Was Gained and Lost When Marshall Gobuty Showed Up.”

On …

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