Under financial strain, Amsterdam seeks better days

AMSTERDAM – Standing on the hills around this city, it's easy to see what once made Amsterdam a financial powerhouse: the factory buildings that stand sentry at the eastern approach to the city and on the bluffs near its geographic center.But those factories — where generations of workers made brooms, rugs and finally Cabbage Patch Kids dolls — have been mostly vacant for decades. Some burned, while others were the sites of failed revitalization efforts.The decline of the city'