News
Parkersburg Resident Pleads For Future of Fortune-Telling
By: Associated Press
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PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (AP) – A tarot card reader is prodding Parkersburg officials to drop a longstanding, little-known ban on fortunetelling.
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports that Heather Cooper, who owns the fortunetelling business Hawthorn, asked city council last week to eliminate the ban.
Since 1947, Parkersburg has prohibited palmistry, fortunetelling, astrology, phrenology and similar practices.
Cooper says she received a state license for tarot card reading and fortunetelling last October, but was recently denied a Parkersburg business license. She instead filed for a retail business license. She has already rented and furnished her business.
Mayor Jimmy Colombo and Council President John Rockhold said they were unfamiliar with the ban. Rockhold told the city attorney to research the ban and how to remove it.
Rockhold said the neighboring city of Vienna has a similar ban.