A resident addressed the Board of Commissioners during public participation to urge against repealing an ordinance that she said restricts fortune telling and divination in downtown Ashland.

"I heard that they were considering repealing an ordinance blocking fortune telling and divination in the downtown in Ashland," Monique Howard said, identifying herself and explaining why she opposed such a change. She told the commission she researched the topic and cited studies and historical materials she said link divination practices to negative emotional outcomes for vulnerable people. She said a recorded statistic in her research indicated "up to 80% of their clientele are women and girls," and stressed concerns about young people becoming dependent on predictive services.

Howard said she would provide sources she had collected and asked commissioners to consider the potential harms to children and vulnerable residents before moving forward with any ordinance change.

Why it matters: The comment raises a local public policy question about whether downtown business regulations should permit or restrict commercial divination, and asks commissioners to consider potential social harms when deciding whether to amend local code.

Details: The speaker described academic and historical sources she said document harms tied to predictive services and said she is particularly concerned about the effect on young people and women. She offered to provide her sources to commissioners.

What’s next: The comment was public testimony; no ordinance language was presented at the meeting and the commission did not take action during the session.