Neighbor Narcs on Florida Boy’s Lemonade Stand

“It’s all about profit.”

That’s T.J. Guerrero, a 12-year-old who sells strawberry
lemonade and cookies on the corner of Patricia Avenue and San
Salvador Drive in Dunedin, Florida, from 3 to 7 p.m. most days. He
scoped out the corner after trying several other locations—market
research is important for any entrepreneur—and got permission from
a neighbor to sell on his front lawn. Other neighbors have even
offered their driveways for customer parking. He sees from 10 to 30
customers a day, and charges $1 a cup.

But none of this diligence impresses 61-year-old Doug Wilkey,
who lives on the corner and thinks the boy is a nuisance worthy of
government intervention.
The Tampa Bay Times reports:

According to Dunedin records, Wilkey contacted city
commissioners in May 2013 and followed up in October, then again in
March and June this year….

“The city could possibly face repercussion in the event someone
became ill from spoiled/contaminated food or drink sales,” Wilkey
wrote in one email.

“If this were a once a year event by a couple kids to earn a
little money for a holiday or something, I would not have a problem
with it,” he said in another. “I am very worried about the value of
my home, which is why I built in a residential area, not a business
area.”

An increasingly frustrated Wilkey, who declined to speak with
the Tampa Bay Times, wrote this summer that the stand
was back “AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!”

A Pinellas County sheriff’s community police officer has been
out at least twice in an attempt to defuse the conflict.

Wilkey says Guerrero’s friends hang out near his stand and make
noise. He has also complained about trash. I haven’t had the chance
to hit up the stand and see for myself—though local Reason
readers should go grab a glass—but those sure sound like complaints
that would be better dealt with man-to-boy, rather than
man-to-Leviathan-to-boy.

Three cheers for the local Florida authorities, though.
Sheriff’s deputies have declined to shut the boy down, unlike their
brethren in
Madison County, Illinois;
Portland, Oregon;
Toronto, Canada;
Holland, Michigan; and Washington,
D.C.