When life gives you lemons …
In the battle of 7-year-old Oregon resident Julie Murphy versus Big Government, Murphy has emerged victorious. In July, Multnomah County, Ore., health inspectors shut down Murphy’s lemonade stand at a local arts fair because she lacked a food-safety license, according to the Associated Press (AP). As a result, however, the young entrepreneur earned support from a wide variety of supporters — including an anarchist group and a local tire store — and an apology from Multnomah County Chairman Jeff Cogen.
In fact, Murphy used help from two of her new-found friends, Portland radio station KRSK and Les Schwab Tire Centers in suburban Milwaukie, to open a second lemonade stand and managed to make $1,838.31 — enough to bankroll a trip for her and her mother, Maria Fife, to Disneyland, according to AP. Meanwhile, Cogen, after issuing his apology on behalf of the county, told health inspectors to use “professional discretion” in enforcing food-safety laws, which he said are intended for commercial businesses. “A lemonade stand is a classic iconic American kid thing to do,” Cogen told CBS affiliate KOIN. “I don’t want to be in the business of shutting that down.”