Mugged By The Law - Dateline: Oregon
(Oh, my God, he's NOT writing about himself, but at least he's writing something here.... Very funny, but this isn't as funny...)
I heard about this just minutes ago on the afternoon news (Shout out to KCRA-TV 3 from Sacramento, CA) - Health inspectors shut down a 7-year old girl's lemonade stand in Multnomah County, Oregon, because she didn't have a food handlers' license, which would cost $120 for a temporary license, all to legally be able to cell 50-cent cups of lemonade.
http://www.kcra.com/health/24533665/detail.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38592078/ns/us_news-life/
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/portland_lemonade_stand_runs_i.html
Seriously, people... What... the... FUCK? This was an experience most of us my age or younger went through at some point as a child during the summer months. Even I took part in it with a friend, setting up a lemonade stand, competing with another friend down the street. We sold lemonade, they did likewise. We offered popcorn, they did the same. We trumped them, and totally outgrossed them in earnings when our babysitters unveiled our secret weapon: Fresh baked mini-pizzas. ^_^; You learned how to run a business, but most of all, it gave you something to do, and a way to earn some money for stuff. We spent our profits at the local mini mart, I believe.
This is an outrage - This is the kind of think you'd read about in Reader's Digest. (hence the "Mugged By The Law" title I used for this.) I would like to think our county health departments would place higher priority to making sure our permanent local area restaurants, whether they're the all-you-can eat buffet joints, Mongolian BBQ houses, fast food places, the area Applebee's, TGI Fridays, Chili's, or even the local high-end steakhouse, pizza parlors, Indian restaurants, etc, tow the line and follow proper food handling practices, rather than denying children the opportunity to learn something about running a business and the value of money, and have some fun while they're at it.
I don't know anymore... This isn't right. Yes, it was set up at a local public event, rather than their backyard. (But even then, technically, if you were setting up shop on your front lawn, you'd still need to be licensed and have proper permits.) Yes, the little girl, Julie, and her mother received an apology from one of the top county officials. It still doesn't make it right.
If I go out in the course of my travels, and I see some kids running a lemonade or generic-ade stand, sure, I'll stop by and buy a cup. I know where they're coming from, and I support them.
I heard about this just minutes ago on the afternoon news (Shout out to KCRA-TV 3 from Sacramento, CA) - Health inspectors shut down a 7-year old girl's lemonade stand in Multnomah County, Oregon, because she didn't have a food handlers' license, which would cost $120 for a temporary license, all to legally be able to cell 50-cent cups of lemonade.
http://www.kcra.com/health/24533665/detail.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38592078/ns/us_news-life/
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/portland_lemonade_stand_runs_i.html
Seriously, people... What... the... FUCK? This was an experience most of us my age or younger went through at some point as a child during the summer months. Even I took part in it with a friend, setting up a lemonade stand, competing with another friend down the street. We sold lemonade, they did likewise. We offered popcorn, they did the same. We trumped them, and totally outgrossed them in earnings when our babysitters unveiled our secret weapon: Fresh baked mini-pizzas. ^_^; You learned how to run a business, but most of all, it gave you something to do, and a way to earn some money for stuff. We spent our profits at the local mini mart, I believe.
This is an outrage - This is the kind of think you'd read about in Reader's Digest. (hence the "Mugged By The Law" title I used for this.) I would like to think our county health departments would place higher priority to making sure our permanent local area restaurants, whether they're the all-you-can eat buffet joints, Mongolian BBQ houses, fast food places, the area Applebee's, TGI Fridays, Chili's, or even the local high-end steakhouse, pizza parlors, Indian restaurants, etc, tow the line and follow proper food handling practices, rather than denying children the opportunity to learn something about running a business and the value of money, and have some fun while they're at it.
I don't know anymore... This isn't right. Yes, it was set up at a local public event, rather than their backyard. (But even then, technically, if you were setting up shop on your front lawn, you'd still need to be licensed and have proper permits.) Yes, the little girl, Julie, and her mother received an apology from one of the top county officials. It still doesn't make it right.
If I go out in the course of my travels, and I see some kids running a lemonade or generic-ade stand, sure, I'll stop by and buy a cup. I know where they're coming from, and I support them.