Only in Cali...

[M.D. Holloway]

Tulare put squeeze on girl's lemonade stand
Published online on Thursday, Aug. 06, 2009
By Eddie Jimenez / The Fresno Bee

Eight-year-old Daniela Earnest has made lemonade out of lemons in more ways than one this week.

Hoping to raise money for a family trip to Disneyland, the Tulare girl opened a lemonade stand Monday. But because Daniela didn't have a business license, the city of Tulare shut it down the same day.

From that came a radio station's offer of Disneyland tickets to Daniela's family -- in exchange for 30 cups of lemonade -- and an appearance in front of the Tulare City Council on Tuesday night that will likely lead to a compromise allowing her lemonade stand and other pint-sized business ventures to operate legally.

The story began Monday morning when Daniela and her stepmother, Marisa Earnest, set up shop at Cartmill Avenue and Hillman Street in north Tulare. The lemonade was freshly squeezed and priced at $2 for a 32-ounce plastic cup.

Richard Garcia, a Tulare code enforcement officer, happened to be at the same intersection to remove illegal signs left behind by someone selling tetherball poles.

Garcia told Daniela and her stepmother that their lemonade stand -- on the northwest corner of the busy intersection -- was not safe, and also that they needed a business license to sell lemonade.

He helped the pair load their ice chest and equipment into their car and then called city planners to find out where they could relocate.

"He wasn't out there on lemonade patrol," said Frank Furtaw, Tulare's code enforcement manager. Garcia was merely applying the city's code enforcement laws equitably, Furtaw said.

Tulare officials said they cannot recall ever shutting down a lemonade stand before this week. But it's not altogether uncommon. Authorities across the nation have done the same. And in Fresno, a Huntington Boulevard shaved ice machine run by a resident mostly so neighborhood kids could get a sno-cone on hot days was shut down by a Fresno code enforcer in June 2008.

Ed Earnest, Daniela's father, said Garcia got "a bad rap" from critics about his enforcement actions. "He was just doing his job," Earnest said.

Nonetheless, news that the city had put the squeeze on a young girl's lemonade stand prompted public outcry.

The story was the hot topic on Q97 (KSEQ, FM 97.1) disc jockey Davey D's program Tuesday.

Davey D, whose real name is David Hickman, and the Visalia radio station decided to offer four two-day passes to Disneyland and California Adventure to the Earnest family.

"All I did was follow my heart," Hickman said. "It was a no-brainer."

Vice Mayor Philip Vandegrift said a compromise -- possibly asking lemonade stand operators to pay a nominal fee or establishing a license fee waiver for children under a certain age -- could be the outcome of Daniela's experience.

However, the city needs to enforce vendor laws, Vandegrift said, "otherwise we'll have people on every corner."

But Vandegrift doesn't want to take away lemonade stands from children. For many, it represents their first opportunity to flex their entrepreneurial muscles.

"I had many a lemonade stand as a kid right in front of my home," he said.

Daniela found the situation "pretty weird" but said it hasn't soured her on reopening her lemonade stand.

Ed Earnest said he plans to make the lemonade stand a family tradition. "It's a good way to teach kids to work for something," he said.

For now, Daniela is looking forward to going to Disneyland this weekend and riding her favorite attractions -- including the Mad Tea Party teacups ride.

"I feel pretty happy," she said. "You feel like you've accomplished something with the lemonade stand and then we get to go to someplace that's real fun."

###

[onewhippedpuppy]

I know it's the guy's job, but couldn't he just look the other way?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

There's a reason I refer to it as the "People's Republic of Kalifornia".

The fact that the bureaucrats are actually still continuing to defend this idiocy speaks volumes.

Government is no longer your friend, it is fast becoming your enemy. It's "us" versus "them" people.

[Jim Bremner]

[artplumber]

Ahnold sez 'Ve need da tax mony!" or if you prefer the Dem congress.

[cl8ton]

No wonder since we have this goof as gov?



I am actually sick of actors thinking they can become poli’s
My town had Allen Autry (yup…Bubba) mayor for several terms and he was good buddies with the Schwartz.

I swear…someday I will cash out and move to a deserted island!

[bell]

Does anyone know that intersection? I have no idea, but if it was a hazardous place to be......
And he did try to see where else she could set up her stand......
I doubt they would've gotten shut down if they were in front of their house........

I'm just curious if it was in fact a very busy intersection......which could be a hazardous spot for a kid......

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by cl8ton

No wonder since we have this goof as gov?



I am actually sick of actors thinking they can become poli’s
My town had Allen Autry (yup…Bubba) mayor for several terms and he was good buddies with the Schwartz.

I swear…someday I will cash out and move to a deserted island!

Arnold isn't the problem. He's actually trying to reel in the idiots who are the problem.
It's the people who are making the laws.
They pretend like they are for the people when in actuality they are all about snatching power over the people.
The same politicians who pretend they are anti-establishment are the ones who think they should make all the decisions for everyone else because they are sooooo much smarter than the rest of us.
The sheeple are too stupid to realize what's going on and they keep voting for them.
The rest of us just shake our heads in disbelief. The sheeple outnumber us, so they get to keep screwing things up.

[Speedo959]

It's busy, but I wouldn't call it dangerous. Three corners of it are pretty much empty AG lots. The City of Tulare has more nosey city workers than they know what to do with. You can't drive through that town without seeing a city worker.

Around here you get illegals trying to set up fruit/flower stands all the time. So I'm sure it wasn't a big deal in this guys mind to shut her down.

[slodave]

Happened to a girl in Florida in 2003:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0306/22/sm.07.html

[Evans, Marv]

Sammy hit it on the nailhead.

[cl8ton]

Originally Posted by Speedo959

The City of Tulare has more nosey city workers than they know what to do with.

Tulare is a bathroom stop between Fresno and El Yaa. (sorry Tulare, but your half way and In-N-Out is very close!)

Sammy I agree (98%) with you....but the sheeple's keep voting these idiots back in?
I have no idea how they get there, nobody I know votes them back in?

[s_morrison57]

What about the Language Police in Quebec Canada , they go around and make sure signs are correct, french first and english sign has to be the same size or there are fines. There are no apostrophy's in Qubec French so they told MacDonald's that the had to change all the signs in the province, Mac's told them they would close all business in Quebec rather than change their sign, the police backed off

[MBAtarga]

looks like it's in the middle of nowhere, but quite some traffic:


View Larger Map

[gr8fl4porsche]

I'm all for kids having lemonade stands - did one with my daughter this summer. Made about $15 in an hour or so.

We did it in our driveway. That is a major intersection - not a tree lined residential street. I would shut her down just like he did.

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by bell

Does anyone know that intersection? I have no idea, but if it was a hazardous place to be......
And he did try to see where else she could set up her stand......
I doubt they would've gotten shut down if they were in front of their house........

I'm just curious if it was in fact a very busy intersection......which could be a hazardous spot for a kid......

KaChing!!!!! we have a winner ladies and gentlemen!!!!!


+1000000!!!!

[GH85Carrera]

Back in the 1940s war time my mother set up a lemonade stand in her neighborhood. There was sugar rationing and lemons were hard to come by in Oklahoma back then. She was digging around in the basement and found some OLD sugar her grandmother had horded from the depression era. I don't remember where she found the lemons but she made real lemonade from scratch. Somewhere along the line something was not quite sterile. Everyone that drank her lemonade received a good bowel cleansing. Everyone just understood it was a mistake, no lawsuits and no government involvement. For some reason I have always been leery of kids with a lemonade stand.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Yet panhandlers are allowed to walk out into traffic on freeway offramps and in major intersections no problem. Ditto the illegals trying to sell roses, oranges, avacados, grapefruit and christ-knows-what-else all over the damn place around here.

This city wanted MONEY, not safety. If they wanted/cared about the kid's safety, they'd have simply gone to the parents and said, "hey, we don't want to make an issue of this, but have you considered the fact that the intersection where your daughter is working her stand is potentially hazardous?"

Nope, their first thought was to whip out the ticket book and the "you will respect my authority" attitude.

One reason I can't wait to get the hell out of Kalifornia. Logic and common sense has taken a back seat to mindless bureaucracy and over-proceduralization of everything from birth to death to how you take a crap (inclusive).

[scottmandue]

You guys should count your lucky stars we keep all the gays, drug addicts, gang bangers, politicians, perverts, and lawyers in Calif. or they would leak out into your perfect little worlds and ruin everything.

[MikeSid]

$2 for a glass of lemonade at a busy intersection is not a kid's lemonade stand. It's a business. And the article mentioned removing "equipment". I'm guessing this operation was a little more sophisticated than Kool-Aid and Dixie cups and I'm prepared to give the guy who was actually there the benefit of the doubt.