ANAHEIM, Calif. – A young man who usually carries a snowboard under his arm as he has held up nine area institutions is believed responsible for Monday’s robbery at SchoolsFirst FCU, the second SchoolsFirst branch he has hit.

QUEENS, N.Y. – Qside FCU has expanded its mortgage loan program to include Federal Housing Administration mortgage loans and refinances.

DENVER – Public Service CU is one of seven local lenders approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration to participate in the SBA Export Express loan guaranty program.

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Matadors Community CU is partnering with Energy Upgrade California, a coalition of power companies, to offer Los Angeles County homeowners energy upgrade loans as low as 2%.

RENTON, Wash. – Alaska USA FCU opened its first branch in the nearby town of Puyallup and its 20th branch in Washington.

PLANO, Texas – Catalyst Corporate FCU, which acquired the remnants of WesCorp FCU at year end, on Tuesday said it has extended WesCorp’s contract with CO-OP Financial Services for payment settlements, including check clearing, ACH, EFT and ATM transactions for its 1,000 credit union members.

WASHINGTON – Two senators yesterday introduced legislation that would let credit unions and banks appeal examination findings to an outside arbiter, similar to the bill being debated in the House.

MADISON, Wis. – Regular online surveys to keep abreast of member sentiment should be a key part of a credit union’s social media programs, a new study by the Filene Research Institute suggests.

ALBANY, N.Y. – In a tax dispute that could be far-reaching, the U.S. Department of Justice told the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest appellate court, it believes that federally chartered credit unions should be exempt from the state’s Mortgage Recording Tax because of the provisions of the Federal CU Act which exempt federal credit unions from almost all state taxes.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA examiners missed numerous signs that a tiny New York credit union that moved to Florida, then Arizona, was being used almost solely for the purpose of processing billions of dollars in Internet poker bets, which was exposed when the processor was caught up in a massive sweep by federal officials that shut down the world’s biggest online gambling sites, according to a new report issued this morning by NCUA’s office of Inspector General.

SEATTLE – FuzeDigital announced it was granted a U.S. patent on its online social business software, the Fuze Suite’s reputation engine.

LITTLETON, Mass. – Octant Business Services, LLC, a CUSO offering business-loan underwriting, servicing and portfolio administration, announced it is giving its nine credit union owners a 10% percent dividend – the third year in a row for such a payout.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Altura CU said a loyal member has won its $5,000 “Friends Don’t Let Friends Bank” Visa Debit sweepstakes.

SAN DIEGO – San Diego County CU is holding a one-day sale of 275 cars at its headquarters here on Saturday.

METAIRIE, La. – Louisiana Corporate CU is the latest corporate credit union to sign a correspondent services deal with Lending Tools, which will include the conversion LaCorp’s ACH system from the U.S. Central APEX system to LT’s Private Correspondent Gateway.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The head teller at the downtown branch of Greylock FCU was suspended yesterday after she was charged with stealing $58,000 and allegedly making up a false story she told police.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – The operations manager at a small local credit union, Alton Employees FCU, on Monday was sentenced to eight months in federal prison for embezzling $72,000 from the credit union.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Pen Air FCU is offering members a variety of checking options that provide different rewards through five different accounts: the Travel Package, Shopping Package, Credit Package, Fraud Protection Package and Peace of Mind Package.

NEW YORK – Cliff Rosenthal, CEO of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, is headed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as assistant director, leading the Office of Financial Empowerment.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA this afternoon issued a banning order against Timothy Sidley, the former chief risk officer for WesCorp FCU, the first civil enforcement action brought by NCUA against any executive in the failure of the five corporate credit unions.