Squeezed Officials Sorry About Girl's Lemonade Stand

The top elected official of the Oregon county that closed a 7-year-old girl's lemonade stand says he's sorry inspectors soured her business, and she won't be asked to produce a $120 permit next time. Running a lemonade stand "is a classic, iconic American kid thing to do," and he used to run lemonade stands himself, Multnomah County Chairman Jeff Cogen told the Oregonian.

Cogen says that while the inspectors who closed her stand at an arts fair were doing their job, he has directed them to use "professional discretion" and remember that food-safety laws are aimed at adults running businesses, not kids with lemonade stands. The chairman says he called the girl's mother in person to apologize.
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