When a permit for beer sales at last year?s Mifflin Street Block Party opened the way for drinking on the street and sidewalks, that?s the only message that got out about the already troublesome annual gathering, said Mark Woulf, the city?s alcohol police coordinator. The results, said Madison Police Chief Noble Wray, were among the worst in the 42-year history of the event, with unprecedented levels of alcohol, two stabbings, three sexual assaults, numerous fights, strong-armed robberies and reports of property damage, and three officers injured. This year, police, city officials, neighborhood residents and students are putting out a decidedly different message.
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