It’s a childhood tradition (at least in TV and movies).  A couple of kids, a pitcher of lemonade, a hand-written sign saying a price.  Seven-year-old Julie Murphy had set up a lemonade stand at a local arts fair, pushing Kool-Aid lemonade for 50 cents a cup.  That’s when health inspectors swooped in, first demanding to see her business license, threatening her with a $500 sign, then shutting her lemonade stand down abruptly.

“A lemonade stand is a classic iconic American kid thing to do,” county Chairman Jeff Cogen said. “I don’t want to be in the business of shutting that down.”  Cogen called Murphy’s mother, Maria Fife, and officially apologized.  “This isn’t something we need to be using our limited resources to crack down on,” he admitted later, emphasizing that inspectors are supposed to use their best judgment and not harass little children trying to have fun and play business.  Besides, people need vitamin C!

Tags: Jeff Cogen, Julie Murphy, Maria Fife, Multnomah County, health inspectors shut down lemonade stand, 7-year-old girl’s lemonade stand shut down, lemonade stand closed by health inspectors

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