HB0961, introduced by Del. Neil Parrott, R-Washington, would bar local jurisdictions from stopping or regulating minors from selling nonalcoholic drinks on private property.

“Basically it’s a protection,” Parrott testified during the bill’s hearing in the House Environment and Transportation Committee on Friday. “Lemonade stands are kind of like apple pie in America, and baseball.”

Currently, Maryland law requires a person to acquire certain permits and licenses before they may operate a stand—or any food establishment, with a few exceptions—all of which would be “issued and enforced by local health departments,” Capital News Service learned from the bill’s fiscal and policy analysis.

This is all to ensure that food supplied in the state is healthy and free of contaminants, according to the analysis.

GianCarlo Canaparo, a legal fellow specializing in overcriminalization and administrative law issues at The Heritage Foundation, testified that while health codes that regulate food providers are important, “common sense exceptions” should also be made.

“Children operating a lemonade stand might need as many as six different permits in order to operate a lemonade stand,” Canaparo said. “And when you think about the purpose of a Health and Food Safety Code, which is safety from predominantly foodborne illnesses, a lemonade stand doesn’t raise many of those concerns.”

In 2011, a group of Montgomery County kids set up a lemonade stand in front of the U.S. Open, which was being held in Bethesda that year. They were soon shut down and the grandfather of some of the kids, who had been helping with the stand, was later fined $500 by a county inspector for not having a permit.

Xander Alarie, a ninth-grader and one of the children involved, testified at the hearing, saying that initially, “We thought this would be a really fun way to earn some money,” but after dealing with the official, they were “pretty discouraged because we were just kids.”

Alarie and his friends had been selling the lemonade to raise money for cancer research.

The story gained wide media attention and received a lot of negative feedback, causing the county to waive the fine and allow Alarie and his friends to reopen their lemonade stand so long as they moved down the street.

“This happened 10 years ago, but it made a pretty big impact on all of us,” Alarie added.

Kenny Welch, president of the Maryland Conference of Environmental Health Directors, testified on behalf of the conference in favor of an amendment to the bill’s wording so that it specified “unadulterated and non-potentially hazardous beverages,” saying that the current wording doesn’t account for accidental or purposeful contamination.

Del. Marlon Amprey, D-Baltimore, asked for clarification on the phrase “private property” so as to not encourage trespassing.

Additionally, certain members of the committee, including Chairman Kumar Barve, D-Montgomery, questioned the bill’s necessity, saying that many counties have since seen children engage in lemonade stands and bake sales without issue, adding that the 2011 incident seems to have lessened the enforcement of laws against them.

Parrott said the issue is that many parents are still too intimidated by the prospect of getting in trouble to allow their children to partake in the fun.

“This bill is needed to send a clear message to parents that this is okay and their kids can perform this entrepreneurial type of activity without the fear of being shut down,” Parrott testified.

A House committee vote has not yet been scheduled.

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It all began in 2000, when Alexandra “Alex” Scott, a 4-year-old cancer patient, set up a lemonade stand in her front yard to raise money for a cure.

The little girl from Connecticut died in 2004, but Alex inspired thousands of children across the country. Every year, these inspired kids set up their own lemonade stands on a designated weekend in early June to raise funds for .

Among those inspired by her story is 4-year-old Hooper Andrews, who will run a stand this weekend with his mom and dad in Capitol Hill, right across from Eastern Market.

“I am going to be selling lemonade all day,” says Hooper, as he plays with his dogs and then cuddles in his mother’s arms.

Gloria Totten, Alex’s mom, says the idea to have a stand was her son’s from the very beginning.

She says she was reading a magazine article about Alex Scott when Hooper started to ask her about the girl in the picture with no hair.

“I told Hooper about the little girl, Alex, who had cancer, and she got sick and lost all of her hair,” says Totten. “And so Hooper said,

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WASHINGTON – Some D.C. students spent their Sunday working, but they were still having fun while do so.

Sunday was D.C.’s first-ever Lemonade Day, part of a nationwide effort to help teach children about running a business and to inspire young people to become entrepreneurs. Kids as young as 3 and as old as 18 set up stands across the District.

12-year old Johnathon Clarke is one of a thousand students in the District out running a stand, along with the help of a mentor.

“We just want to get these kids involved with learning how to sell lemonade in the right way,” said George Washington University basketball player Jonathan Davis, one of the mentors. “We’re trying to get them to learn about all the different options that goes with creating a business. You’re going to need those types of skills. It’s just great to have them at such a young age. I wish I would have had them.”

The free program teaches kids to use their profits wisely. Clarke says their motto is: “you may save some, you may give some, and you may keep some for yourself.”

Lemonade Day was started in Houston, Texas in 2007. Organizers say it has grown from 2,700 kids in one city to 150,000 kids across America and Canada.

D.C.’s Lemonade Day was sponsored by George Washington University’s School of Business (GWSB), Gallup, PNC Bank, Arthur & Judith Mintz, and the office of Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie.

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OWINGS, Md. – A 12-year-old boy who lost his family in an apparent murder- suicide in Calvert County two weeks ago continues to recover.

Now, friends and strangers are banding together to raise money for the boy’s medical bills.

Frank Hayward III was pulled from a burning home in Owings on July 31 and taken to a hospital in critical condition with burns and lacerations to his neck.

Police think the boy’s father, Frank Hayward Jr., shot to death his mother, Cynthia, and his 2-year-old sister Natalee before taking his own life.

Investigators also believe Hayward Jr. set the house on fire.

Isabella Lunczynski, 13, went to school with Frank Hayward III, and when she and her sister Hannah, 11, heard about the tragedy they wanted to help.

“One morning we just heard about Frank and then we just thought, ‘Oh yeah, that would be a good idea,’ and put up a lemonade stand for him,” says Hannah.

For eight days, the girls sold lemonade from a stand in their Owings yard for 50 cents a cup.

“They were out there from 9 o’clock to dusk everyday, 9 (or) 10 hours a day, sitting outside trying to sell lemonade to help a friend,” says their mother Jeannine Lunczynski.

One person dropped off a $500 check.

Others stopped by to donate lemonade and ice.

The girls closed the stand Saturday, but Jeannine Lunczynski says people were still donating. So they re-opened it Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m.

So far the sisters have raised more than $3,000. The plan is to have the lemonade stand open weekdays from 4-7 p.m., and on weekends too at 7805 Farmview Court in Owings.

“The girls were thinking about perhaps maybe purchasing a laptop for him, and anything that goes with a laptop to give him … so he can keep in touch with everybody,” she says.

They also plan to set up their lemonade stand at two car show benefit fundraisers being organized Sept. 8 at Sneade’s in Lusby and Sept. 9 in Dunkirk Park.

Meanwhile, a store in Dunkirk called is selling specially designed T-shirts to raise money for Frank Hayward III.

“We’re trying to make sure that he is going to be taken care of through all of his medical bills, and all the way through college,” says owner Bonita Thomas.

The shirt features the boy’s initials as well as a logo that looks like arms reaching around a heart.

Thomas says it’s meant to show that the community is embracing the child.

The plan is to sell as many shirts as possible.

“We’re going to do it probably until we’ve made sure everybody has a shirt. In this county anyway. And anybody that lives outside of the county that’s interested, they can give us a call and we can ship them a shirt and get it in their hands.”

The shirts are $15 for sizes small to extra large. Double extra large and larger sell for $18.

Another way to help is to make a donation to the Hayward Family Relief Fund at any SunTrust Bank.

Donation can also be mailed to the following address:

SunTrust Bank
579 Solomons Island Rd. North
Prince Frederick, MD 20678.

More information about the September benefit events and other ways to help Frank Hayward III can be found Frank Hayward III Benefit Car Show Facebook page.

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