WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - In a year dominated by efforts to get legislation passed that would allow credit unions to expand to serve new groups, plenty of other news also happened. Below are some of the highlights from The Credit Union Journal's pages in 1998: * The CU Journal hosts a roundtable of tech execs, and while Internet-enabled technologies are good part of discussion, so are security threats * NCUA gets expanded powers over CUSOs to monitor for Y2K * An increase in interest in private share insurance is seen as more CUs move to state charters * Some credit unions begin using laptops to take loan applications from members on site * AEA FCU in California, which serves an electronics-related FOM, webcasts its annual meeting * Credit unions meet as part of "Williamsburg Group" to discuss national EFT group * More credit unionists get involved in running for office themselves * Some CUs roll out campaigns built around themes of helping members save $2,000 or reduce debt by $2,000 by the year 2000 * President Clinton says he will veto a bankruptcy reform bill (the bill will not pass for another seven years) * In early 1998, Callahan & Associates reports that 1,341 CUs are online * Nancy Pierce becomes second female chair of CUNA * Hewlett Packard Employees FCU publishes its annual report via CD-ROM * CUNA CEO Dan Mica identifies a new rival, pawn shops, noting for the first time there are more pawn shops in the U.S. than credit unions n A number of credit union leaders meet to form pools of liquidity in preparation for widespread cash withdrawals just prior to Y2K n Utah's CUs collect 57,000-plus names on petitions in less than two weeks to require state legislature to consider a bill to reverse court ruling banning multiple county FOM * CUES announces program to boost minority participation in CU management. * A branch manager at Mountain America CU files suit against the Utahns for Fair Taxation, a bank-fronted group, after it uses a photo of her personal Lexus to suggest that credit union profits were going to employees who are now doing as well as their "wealthy customers." * U.S. FCU launches program to train board members on using technology * Dan Kampen takes over as CEO of U.S. Central * Court denies appeal by 94 Washington-area CUs over 1995 liquidation by NCUA of Capital Corporate FCU * A study released in 1998 finds that in 1997, for the first time fee income contributed more toward banks' profitability than all other net income sources and expenses combined. * Credit unions report that one of the growing titles at CUs is Security Officer. * The Credit Union Journal is acquired by Faulkner & Gray, Jan. 28, 1998 * Some merchants report problems with credit cards that have expiration date of "00." Card processors say any problems are isolated * Russell Clark exits NCUA and joins New Jersey league as CEO * Reports from NCUA are that board member Yolanda Wheat and Chairman Norman D'Amours are not speaking to each other, with board member Dennis Dollar asked to act as a go-between * Maine-based CU Financial Services starts soliciting credit unions nationally to convert to savings bank charters * Reflecting a swing congressional swing toward Republicans, CUNA hires Carl Parks as its chief lobbyist * Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa says there will be no dismantling of credit unions * The Campaign for Consumer Choice backs off pledge to refund any funds left over from fight to get legislation passed * CUNA Mutual and Stanford FCU partner to offer SFCU's "Cyberbranch" to other CUs * Texas Gov. George W. Bush, a long-shot candidate for the president in 2000, has breakfast with two Texas CU reps * US Central unveils secondary market for car loans called AutoPilot * The DC league mulls merging with another league * The Texas Share Guaranty Credit Union, a cooperative share insurance program, finishes its liquidation * In some 22 focus groups hosted by the Credit Union Values campaign found that when consumers were asked to choose animals associated with banks, they chose flesh-eating alligators, snakes, lions with prey and pigs * One analyst recalls the day he had one of the earliest smart cards, which was embossed with the name "Stolen Card." When he presents it to a teller, she says, "How may I help you, Mr. Card?" * Members of Wetex Credit Union in Texas vote on a new name: Wetex Credit Union * Ian Harper a leading Australian academic, tells credit unions meeting at a World Council event in South Africa to "give up the tax fight,' as it comes with strings attached * The Washington league becomes the first to do a webcast * Hurricane Georges pounds credit unions in the Florida keys and Gulf Coast. In Pascagoula, Miss., Chevron Pascagoula FCU reported killing 26 snakes after the water had receded * The Veterans of Foreign Wars obtains approval to charter a new credit union. Some 140 people sign up at VFW conference * The National Association of Retired Credit Union People (NARCUP) changes its name to MEMBERS Prime Club * Community Credit Union, Plano, Texas, partners with Bank One to offer a line of business-loan products * As of the third quarter of 1998, 1,865 CUs had websites, up 60% from year-end 1997. 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