County Closes 7-Year-Old's Lemonade Stand

Ah, the plight of a small business owner, always bullied by unfair government regulation. Take it from 7-year-old Julie Murphy. Inspired by a cartoon show, Murphy decided to set up a lemonade stand at a monthly art fair in Northeast Portland. People were drinking down the 50-cent cups of Kool-Aid great, until a government inspector came over and demanded to see her temporary restaurant license, the Oregonian reports.

Such licenses cost $120, and naturally, Julie didn’t have one. Others at the fair encouraged her to give out the lemonade, in exchange for donations, but the inspectors returned and ordered the girl—who soon began crying—to close shop, or face a $500 fine. The county health supervisor stands by that decision, particularly because Julie had set up at a big event. “We still need to put the public’s health first,” she says. (More lemonade stories.)