“If your visual system isn’t working optimally, your ability to learn suffers,” says Eric Dukes, COVD, of Progressive Optometry in Ashland (2325 Ashland Street). “Attention equals vision; that’s how we interpret and make sense of the world.”

Take a drive down E. Main in downtown Ashland, and you’ll see a plethora of sturdy, nice-looking awnings adorning many of the storefronts. Quite a few of them were designed and installed by Deluxe Awning, located at 260 4th Street,

For over two decades, Tom and Lisa Beam have been an integral part of the Ashland restaurant scene. Lisa had graduated from Willamette University in 1996 and Tom from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

It was a wild and crazy year since the last “Best of Ashland” was published in January/February 2019. First, a whole new Congress decided to put Pres. Trump’s feet to the fire, and instead of maintaining a low profile and being a good boy, he goes off and tries to extort a promise from the president of Ukraine to help him undermine the U.S. elections.

One of the newest stores to open downtown is North & East Co. at 242 E. Main (where Unicorn Toys used to be), a “family shop that features a variety of cute and adventurous modern crafts and apparel along with vintage items and a selection of Chinese and other East Asian antiques.”