Word: townes
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...there, like in the town I spent my youth, that people have, out of necessity and out of tradition, practiced a type of self-reliance that makes them bristle at the notion that they need politicians to do something “for them.” There, the rates of uninsured are among the highest in the nation, but opposition to nationalized healthcare (or anything that resembles it) is equally high, even among those who would be eligible for government assistance...
...they prevent a coral reef from turning into a tidal wave that will hit Manhattan. (Most of my knowledge about global warming comes from The Day After Tomorrow.) Even though I drive a tiny Mini Cooper, I have been subtly shamed by all my friends in Los Angeles, a town that is one big river of Priuses. On Friday, I was shocked when a friend came over to dinner and he wasn't driving a Prius. It turned out he was driving his converted 1980s Mercedes that runs on vegetable oil and had left his wife's Prius at home...
...still suffering from what locals call the Toyota shock. After the Lehman bankruptcy, when the worst of the financial crisis bit and the U.S. car market collapsed, Toyota reduced production and shed temporary workers, sending a damaging ripple through the region. The scars are clearly visible on the town's streets, riddled with closed shops and restaurants. Ryuichi Watanabe, an agent at the local branch of the Able property brokerage, says rents are down some 20% from two years ago, with many apartments lying empty. He worries the worst may be yet to come. "The myth of Japanese quality...
...Toyota City already gives an impression of a town under siege. Toyota's giant headquarters building is inaccessible - like a fortress at war. A spokesman for the city wouldn't grant TIME an interview with officials, saying the government won't comment on the issues of one company. Toyota employees are keeping their lips tightly sealed as well. Those approached on the streets, their Toyota company IDs clearly visible, politely bow their heads and say they are unable to comment. Only one young employee, who wouldn't give his name, mutters, "We're not sure what is going to happen...
...Yasuteru Kamiya has no doubt though. The proprietor of the Happy End café in Toyota City's center sees Toyota's current crisis as yet another stop in the town's 30-year decline. Toyota City, he says, has never regained the bustle it enjoyed back in the 1980s, during the go-go years when Japan was the rising force of the global economy. Since the Toyota shock, Kamiya's sales are down 50%. "We're very worried that we can't continue," he says. And that all depends on Toyota...