Madison has taken action against two bars that have had a string of police calls in the past year. But some wonder whether the city is applying the same standards (see The Daily Page Forum discussion).
At R Place, 1821 S. Park St., the city is looking to pull the liquor license. With Wiggies Bar, 1901 Aberg Ave., owned by Dane County Supv. Dave Wiganowsky, the police have devised a security plan to deal with problems, which Wiganowky is appealing.
Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Zilavy denies Wiggies has gotten special treatment, saying, "The situation is not identical."
Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 17 at R Place, Zilavy says, there were 157 police calls, including nine for weapons violations: five involving a gun and four with knives. Between Nov. 6, 2009, and this Oct. 27, there have been 131 calls at Wiggies, only two of which involved a weapon.
"The calls for service are not in and of themselves a significant thing, but they're what alert us to look deeper," she says, adding that the security plan devised for Wiggies is very similar to one created for R Place earlier.