This issue was delayed getting to your mailbox because it includes a large spread on the long-awaited opening of the new Delta Hotels by Marriott Ashland Downtown. We wanted to make sure to give our readers a tantilizing sneak-peek into the transformed interior and provided the most up-to-date information on the businesses opening.
    The completely renovated property in the heart of the central business district has bred measureable excitement among residents, including us! The transformation, we expect, will serve our community well by providing  much-needed upscale accommodations for visitors including business travelers who may  be coming to make a decision about whether to bring additional investments to our community.
    We believe the hotel will become a gathering place for locals as well, who will be drawn to its new bar and restaurant. We also believe that the investment by WB Hospitality will spur future good fortunes for downtown not only by attracting new businesses but helping established ones to grow too.
    We commend WB Hospitality principals Jim Nizzo and Andy Spiros for their leap of faith in investing in the property, which had languished in recent years. Their committment to creating a world-class hotel in our community should not be discounted.             Residents will soon see the extra time the project took – prompting countless rumors that the project was being abandanonded –  was worth it. The extra care and attention to detail by Nizzo and Spiros, and their entire staff, have truly elevated it to a higher level.
    We thank them for a job well done and look forward to celebrating many future milestones, personal and communal, at the new hotel.