County shuts down kids’ lemonade stand, fines parents $500 BARF ALERT!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110617/ts_yblog_thelookout/county-shuts-down-kids-lemonade-stand-fines-parents-500 ^ | 6/17/2011 | Zachary Roth

[battlecry]

Augustine wanted to become a volunteer science teacher at a MC school after he retired from L-M. He was told he was not qualified, nor welcome.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Does it say which political party runs the county?

I stopped reading after county and $500.

[NormsRevenge]

Pretty crazy. mOre local authorities gone wild!

[4yearlurker]

Was this stand set up on the parents own yard/property? If not the “inspector” has a legit reason to boot them. However the fine is a bit harsh. Just warn them and tell them to leave.

[Abby4116]

I believe it's a state law and not aimed at kid's lemonade stands. The local businessmen wanted the law to cut down on the flower vendors, etc. on the highways, who were in direct competition with them but had no overhead (like fees or taxes). You also cannot sell prepared foods at your yard sale without a permit to guarantee food safety.

Sounds like this was a sizable operation which would differentiate it from a "kid's lemonade stand".

[Always Independent]

That inspector needs to incurr $500 in doctor bills at an urgent care center.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Uhhh, yeah.

Brand protection trumps all (even if you can leverage that “brand” to look socially conscious).

[MasterGunner01]

“Just once I want to see an angry mob surround one of these petty little bureaucratic tyrants and...”

...tarred and feathered them and ran them out of the county on a fence rail. There, much better.

[Dead Corpse]

Sounds like a bad case of “too much government” in either case.

[Blagden Alley]

Sounds right. Montgomery County is Nanny County. Wouldn’t dream of living there. Except for taxes and the control of Maryland by Montgomery and PG counties and Baltimore, Maryland has a lot of great towns.

[GSWarrior]

Our government hates competition.

[EDINVA]

Actually the kids learned a lesson about business and government that most MBA’s don’t know about first hand!

Only a few short years ago Montgomery County went to great lengths to keep Marriott there. They had planned to move to more corporate HQ to business-friendly VA, but Montgomery County and MD came up with lots and lots of exemptions and incentives to sit tight.

The real estate taxes alone those families pay for their homes is thru the roof. But God forbid their kids try to sell lemonade without a permit.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

I'm so glad I moved out of that obnoxious county in 2007.

I hate those f*ckers.

Maryland "Freak State" PING!

Montgomery County Changes Stance On Lemonade Stand; $500 Fine Waived

[ZGuy]

This was resolved on Friday. The stand was moved down the street and the citation was rescinded. The county also waived the need for a permit, which would have cost about $38.

A homemade sign at the old location announced: “Grand Reopening: 25 Feet Down.”