Very Informative although I have some major issues with the content. Your description of downtown Ashland proved to be rather misleading and incorrect. You described the downtown as if it was run down and in a poor state of upkeep indicating to the reader that there were many vacant store fronts which is also incorrect. It seemed that based off the description of downtown Ashland you gave the reader you also came to the incorrect conclusion that Ashland was in decline or that it has been declining. All based on the authors perception of downtown Ashland which transitioned away from the central retail area when the mall opened in 1989. It’s now a specialty shop area with lots of arts and crafts and some office buildings but there are only a few vacant stores. Did you know Ashland has a mall just north of downtown and it’s 100% occupied? Have you ever seen the 2006-present retail developments on Melody Mountain near the city limits and the mall that is a mountain of bustling retail and other businesses Why do people try to dig up something saying that Ashland and/or the Tri-State MSA is suddenly dying? It’s not, never has even declined in the least bit. Any particular industry that goes down or declines is offset by another one on the rise and the economy here stays the same as a result. However it is stagnant and that is business as usual in the tri-state and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. We like it that way and if you aren’t born here you’ll never understand! We sure like stagnant better than going down which is something our area has yet to ever do despite outsiders who try to find proof the tri-state is declining which they have yet to do including this author. The tri-state stays the same even if it is stagnant because the economy is diversified and when one industry downturn occurs it is offset by another which might be seeing a modest upturn. This goes for the entire tri-state area. When people want to make it look like the economy is bad in the Tri-State they always cite the population declines that Huntington and Ashland have seen since 1950. That is only because they failed to annex the outside areas around the cities and residential zones were made commercial or industrial removing houses inside the city limits. The MSA has been the same size since 1950 therefore it should indicate to an educated person we are not just Ashland or Huntington here but actually a much larger city of the Tri-state and its no different than it has ever been around here. If our MSA population has been the same since 1950 when it peaked that means THERE IS NO POPULATION LOSS PEOPLE. THIS TRISTATE AREA IS JUST THE SAME AS IT HAS BEEN FOR 67 YEARS THAT SHOULD TELL YOU SOMETHING! ECONOMY TOO DIVERSIFIED TO BE EFFECTED BY ANY ONE INDUSTRY! Good Day!!!