SARASOTA, Fla. – Before Milton made landfall, staff at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall began preparing as they always do.
Sandbags were placed outside and valuable items were secured. Milton brought around 4 ½ feet of storm surge to certain parts of the theater.
“We walked in here, and we saw sludge everywhere. They wouldn’t even let me walk down into the kitchen because it was so slippery and horrible,” said Executive Director Mary Bensel.…