Shaved-Ice Enthusiasts and Liberty Lovers Fight Beach Town's Street Vendor Ban
Save the snow cones.
George Manko sells Hawaiian shave ice in a private parking lot for beachgoers in Westerly, where celebrities including Taylor Swift andConan O'Brien have summer homes.
The town recently banned street vendors, except for at festivals and one-time events. Town councilors who supported the ban said they did so because the police chief expressed safety concerns.
Manko continues to serve the treat from his yellow trailer with Hawaiian flowers and a surfing scene painted on it. He believes the councilors do not like the look of street vendors and are trying to turn Westerly into the next Martha's Vineyard.
"It's a blue-collar beach," said Manko, 59, of Groton, Connecticut. "Justin Bieber is not going to move in."
Manko pleaded not guilty in municipal court Thursday to 16 counts of violating the ordinance. He faces up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $500 for each count.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?