RAVES SUSPENDED; FALK TO INVESTIGATE

Amid mounting concerns about drug use at late-night techno events, Dane
County Executive Kathleen Falk told Alliant Center officials to suspend all
raves while she investigates whether the county can ban the events outright.

Falk made the decision after meeting with officials about news reports that
described blatant drug use at an April 27-28 techno event at the center.
The event was billed as an alcohol-free dance open to anyone over 16 years old.

Falk, a Democratic candidate for governor, said she also asked center
director Bill DiCarlo to consider whether more security would help deter
drug use at future events.

Dane County sheriff's officials have been seeking a ban on raves at the
center, but Falk and DiCarlo opted for lesser restrictions such as
attendance limits and banning glow sticks on strings and pacifiers.

People on Ecstasy often use pacifiers because the drug makes them grind
their teeth; they like glow sticks because the drug heightens their senses.
State officials have said Ecstasy use is the fastest-growing problem in
Wisconsin.

Sheriff's officials on the scene of the April event said they believed
almost all the 3,000 people at the rave were on drugs.

County Sup. David Blaska said he thinks the county can legally ban the events.

"We've been assured in the past that these raves were well-policed," Blaska
said. "I'm not sure that's true anymore."

Falk said there is no permanent ban on techno events at the Alliant Center,
and none are scheduled.

Other communities have managed to deter raves.

The Wisconsin National Guard no longer allows raves at its armories, and
Washington County stopped a rave planned for its county fairgrounds. In
Chicago, officials adopted an ordinance allowing criminal charges against
owners of buildings that hold raves where drug use is documented.