Madison police are ramping up downtown patrols to fight an increase in violence that comes when warmer temperatures mix with nightlife.

Violent incidents near University Avenue, Francis Street and State Street are not new, but this year, the city locked in $50,000 to ensure the area has officers on the ground during weekend peak hours.

Andy Hoerig, manager at the Hawk's Bar & Grill on State Street, can remember a number of violent situations.

"Personally, even service industry people who work on State Street after-hours are trying to break up incidents," Hoerig said. "I have several friends who have [broken] noses just this semester from getting involved."

Most of the events, including a shooting last May, happened around closing time on the weekends.

A fee will be charged for the UW employee bus pass starting next academic year the university said Thursday. But campus bus routes 80, 81, 82 and 84 will remain fare-free.

The university said the change from a free pass to a $24 annual charge is due to budgetary concerns and to make the UW employee bus pass program sustainable. According to the school, the cost is still a significant reduction compared to the regular single-ride pass cost of $2 or the Metro?s $696 unlimited ride pass for a year.

The university said about 15,000 employees hold a bus pass and an average of 7,000 use the pass each month, resulting in about 1.5 million bus rides annually.

UW Transportation Services, which does not receive state funding, will continue to subsidize the $1.8 million per year program, the UW said.

The $24 employee pass will be available in August and valid through Aug. 31, 2014.

Police are crediting two clerk at a local pharmacy with helping catch a man police said is responsible for a string of OxyContin and oxycodone robberies and thefts from pharmacies in Madison and other surrounding communities.

The manager of the DeForest pharmacy where the suspected thief was arrested said he's glad someone is in custody.

?Pharmacies are held up every day, but this particular guy seems to have been stopped," said DeForest Hometown Pharmacy manager Jim Butcher. ?We don't have to anticipate it anymore.?

Madison police joined with DeForest police and the FBI at a news conference Thursday to talk about the arrest and the investigation into 20 incidents of robbery and theft reported since mid-November.

"He came into the pharmacy, made contact with a pharmacist, asked for a prescription," said DeForest police Lt. Dan Furseth.