Refinery Sale Dead

MONTREAL — Shell Canada and the U.S. subsidiary of Israeli oil giant Delek have ended last-ditch efforts for Delek-U.S. Holdings to buy Shell’s 77-year-old refinery in east Montreal, Delek-U.S. CEO Uzi Yemen said in a release last week. That paves the way for Shell to convert the facility into a distribution terminal. With hundreds of jobs at stake, Delek-U.S., the only viable buyer, and Shell came under pressure to reach a deal. Shell had earlier rejected a Delek offer of $420 million for the facility and gas stations in Quebec and the Maritimes. Union leaders say they’ll fight the refinery’s conversion.

Ex-MSO Violist Dies

MONTREAL — Otto Joachim, a refugee from Nazi Germany who became a leading musical figure as a violist, violinist, atonal avant-garde composer and teacher, died in Montreal on July 30 at age 99. Joachim was principal violist under Zubin Mehta for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and founded the Montreal String Quartet with his late brother, Walter, a cellist. Although an expert in classical music who once recorded with Glenn Gould, he maintained an interest in computers and was a pioneer in electronic music, composing Katamavik for the Canadian Pavilion in Expo 67.