“Murder in Passing” is a whodunit unfolding on TTC subway screens

Murder in Passing is a whodunit unfolding on TTC subway screens
A whodunit will unfold for commuters on Toronto’s subway system starting Monday, reported the Toronto Star Jan. 7. New silent 30-second episodes of Murder in Passing, written and directed by York University film Professor John Greyson, will air on platform television screens four days a week, repeating every 10 minutes, until March 1. Read full story.

Three Metro Toronto unsung art galleries that deserve a hallelujah chorus
From the point of view of the Queen West, getting out to the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU) in the northern wilds of Jane and Finch can seem an onerous chore….But the idea that Toronto’s cultural life takes place entirely a stone’s throw from the Drake Hotel is absurd, limiting, and simply out of touch. Some of our region’s most compelling and cutting edge exhibitions take place away from the city’s core, reported the Toronto Star Jan. 5. Read full story.

In search of accountants who don’t count beans
Accountants get a bad rap: in the movies they are portrayed as humourless individuals with a narrow interest in numbers. But that’s not who York University’s Schulich School of Business has in mind for its new Master of Accounting to be offered in May, 2013, reported The Globe and Mail Dec. 21. For the 12-month program, the latest in a growing roster of specialty degrees, Schulich hopes to attract those with an undergraduate liberal arts or science honours degree interested in a career in accounting. Read full story.

Walkom: End of American empire? Maybe not
The Making of Global Capitalism by Leo Panitch, a York University political scientist, and Sam Gindin is an ambitious attempt to understand the economic history of the past 100 years and, in particular, the role of the United States in that history, reported the Toronto Star Jan. 4. Read full story.

6 top reasons people raid their RRSPs
“The concern we have is that people raid RRSPs for emergencies, and that can come back to haunt them in a number of ways,” said Jamie Golombek, professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business. Not only is the money taxable, but, as Golombek points out, the money withdrawn reduces the amount you can contribute to RRSPs in the future, and unlike a tax-free savings account, that so-called contribution room is lost forever, reported CBC News Jan. 4. Read full story.

Bruised, but not broken
Variable annuities are not going to disappear anytime soon, even though some insurance companies are pulling back on their offerings or getting out of the business altogether….it is difficult for an advisor to know what to tell a client because there are too many unknown variables, says Moshe Milevsky, a professor of finance at York University, in Financial Advisor Jan. 4. Read full story.

James: New year, same issues for Toronto
Fifteen years into a tumultuous forced amalgamation, Toronto has survived a wobbly start to emerge a viable, livable, desirable city near the top of international rankings, reported the Toronto Star Jan. 5. Heading into 2013, the city is a salesperson’s dream: booming and financially stable….York University, once an isolated orphan, will have two subways stops on its doorsteps in three years; the track and field stadium there is being rebuilt in time for the Pan Am Games. Read full story.

Who polices the police?
The ongoing debate over a controversial police budget has placed a spotlight on the Hamilton Police Services Board and its ability to manage one of the most powerful agencies in the city….Richard LeBlanc, professor of law, governance and ethics at Toronto’s York University, said Hamilton’s police budget increase request strikes him as high….”You need a board that presses management to achieve efficiencies,” he said in the Hamilton Spectator Jan. 5. “Board members should be competent and have the courage to ask questions.” Read full story.

In memoriam: A young Muslim journalist discovers that when it comes to the coverage of honour killings in Canada, truth is often the first casualty
There are important details of the cases that were overlooked and unreported by the media, because they didn’t fit the mainstream storyline, reported Ryerson Review of Journalism Jan. 6 – one that places tolerant Canada on one side and dangerous Muslims on the other, according to Eve Haque, linguistics professor at York University. Read full story.