LEOMINSTER, Mass. – Leominster CU celebrated the opening of its new offices last week with $7,000 of community contributions.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Corporate One FCU said Friday it is partnering with Sallie Mae to offer the Smart Option Student Loan program to its nearly 800 member credit unions.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa Community CU foreclosed last week on 28 properties owned by a troubled construction company.

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – A wide-bodied man who robbed a Rockland FCU branch and Pawtucket CU in nearby Warwick, R.I., May 27 is believed to be responsible for five other holdups in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire along the Interstate 95/495 corridors in recent weeks.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Greylock FCU said Friday that its President Angelo Stracuzzi has stepped down from the board of directors and has been put on administrative leave after an investigation into his parole for a misdemeanor assault charge was opened.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Gulf Winds FCU has committed $50,000 in a matching donation fund to assist the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida to help fight the spreading oil spill in the Louisiana side of the Gulf.

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers will return from their week-long Memorial Day recess today right in the middle of a human scrum – hundreds of credit union executives crossing paths with hundreds of retailers arguing over a key provision in the bank reform bill that would introduce government oversight of the market for cards interchange.

WASHINGTON – Pentagon FCU’s PenFed Foundation was expected to raise $500,000 during last night’s annual Night of Heroes Gala to fund a variety of projects benefitting military veterans.

MIDDLETON, Conn. – Seasons FCU opened an in-school branch in Westbrook High School, which will be run by students during lunch hours.

SAN DIEGO – San Diego County CU is giving away a two-seat Smart Car as the grand prize in its Bill Payer Plus Smart Car Sweepstakes.

FITCHBURG, Mass. – IC FCU is giving away 300 bike helmets Saturday to youth from 5 to 13 as part of the annual Ryan Joubert Helmet Giveaway.

MADISON, Wis. – Summit CU introduced the DoMore Team, a group of community members whose mission is simple: deliver spontaneous acts of kindness.

MADISON, Wis. – University Of Wisconsin CU said yesterday it has agreed to acquire a Waukesha branch from The Equitable Bank, its second recent acquisition of a bank building in the Milwaukee suburbs.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Michigan CU closed a deal yesterday to buy the 58,000-square-foot former headquarters building of the defunct Ann Arbor News in downtown Ann Arbor.

WASHINGTON – Long-term mortgage rates were almost unmoved this week, keeping near record lows, according to Freddie Mac.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard yesterday announced the roll out of a person-to-person money transfer service for iPhone and iPad users.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Credit unions across the country are reporting soaring debit card use by their members as the nation abandons the use of cash and checks for the convenience of electronic transactions.

WASHINGTON – Officials with Visa and MasterCard were telling their credit union and bank issuers this week that a two-tiered system that would be required by the proposed interchange provisions in the pending bank reform bill will be costly and difficult to implement.

ARVADA, Colo. – A search committee was appointed to select a successor to Credit Union Association of Colorado President/CEO John Dill, who stepped down from his position last week.

PHILADELPHIA – American Heritage FCU workers are filling the local swimming pool with 700 gallons of bright red gelatin in preparation for this year’s Gelatin Olympics, an annual fundraiser for the Kids-N-Hope Foundation, which benefits the Children’s Seashore House of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.