Posted on 08/05/2010 6:56:11 PM PDT by Bigtigermike
It's hardly unusual to hear small-business owners gripe about licensing requirements or complain that heavy-handed regulations are driving them into the red.
So when Multnomah County shut down an enterprise last week for operating without a license, you might just sigh and say, there they go again.
Except this entrepreneur was a 7-year-old named Julie Murphy. Her business was a lemonade stand at the Last Thursday monthly art fair in Northeast Portland. The government regulation she violated? Failing to get a $120 temporary restaurant license.
Turns out that kids' lemonade stands -- those constants of summertime -- are supposed to get a permit in Oregon, particularly at big events that happen to be patrolled regularly by county health inspectors.
"I understand the reason behind what they're doing and it's a neighborhood event, and they're trying to generate revenue," said Jon Kawaguchi, environmental health supervisor for the Multnomah County Health Department. "But we still need to put the public's health first."
Julie had become enamored of the idea of having a stand after watching an episode of cartoon pig Olivia running one, said her mother, Maria Fife. The two live in Oregon City, but Fife knew her daughter would get few customers if she set up her stand at home.
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
Live in Oregon. Listened to the local talk radio show today and there was a guy that called in that also lives in OR and said this same thing happened to his kid last summer. The father told the gubmint worker to pound sand and to go ahead and fine him, but that his kid was not shutting down his stand. The weenie gubmint guy folded like a cheap tent and said, well, just don’t do it again... I say, “WAY TO GO DAD!!!”. We need more people to stand up to these morons!
NOT GUILTY!!!
Code for: we need to get our cut to pay our salary
As a kid in the 50s, we also had our own carnivals for muscular distrophy. I remember sending in our take to the TV station to add to their fund.
lol....That might cover her government fees, permits and licenses...
Well, since we're bragging, I beat you to it:
...and maybe her mandatory healthcare... and paying down some of the interest on this administration's spending debt.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.