LARGO, Md. – Representatives of Prince George’s FCU and local police were handing out $1 bills yesterday to drivers who have all occupants buckled up as part of the "Click It or Ticket" Safety campaign.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Three men charged with last Thursday’s armed robbery at Dupont Community CU told police they threw the stolen loot out of the window of their getaway car after a dye pack exploded, then went back for the tainted cash later, prompting a high-speed chase with police that resulted in their capture.

WASHINGTON – The Senate yesterday defeated an amendment to the bank reform bill that would have ended government support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next two years and forced the two government sponsored enterprises into a privatization.

WASHINGTON – An amendment proposed to the bank reform bill yesterday would exempt all credit unions with less than $10 billion in assets from the proposed consumer financial protection bureau and leave those duties to NCUA.

SALT LAKE CITY – NCUA, acting as liquidating agent for failed HeritageWest FCU, has filed suit against several members of the defunct credit union claiming the members defaulted on millions of dollars in speculative real estate loans only to buy the properties back at steep discounts in foreclosure sales.

MIAMI – A new report issued by NCUA on last year’s failure of Eastern Financial Florida CU found that the one-time high-flying credit union, as big as $2.4 billion in assets as recently as 2007, was caused by the credit union’s investments in risky financial derivatives known as collateralized mortgage obligations, or CDOs.

SAN DIEGO – Authorities are searching for a woman they believe held up three local institutions yesterday, including a branch of Mission FCU.

LINDEN, N.J. – Integrated Media Management has launched an iPad application for its popular TotaleAtlas document management solution.

WILLISTON, Vt. – New England FCU awarded three nursing scholarships of $3,000 each under its annual Nursing Scholarship Program.

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – A 25-year financial services veteran and grandmother of three who serves as vice president at Peoples CU won a full scholarship, which will cover the tuition cost for the complete online business degree program of her choosing at the Boston-based New England College of Business and Finance.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Teachers FCU is opening a new branch tomorrow in Oakdale, the $3.8 billion credit union’s 21st service facility.

TAMPA, Fla. – floridacentral CU is building a new branch in nearby Bradenton, replacing an existing facility.

PHOENIX – Arizona Central CU has partnered with the Northern Arizona Council of Governments to offer a new program, Wheels to Work, that helps individuals that have limited income with minimal to no credit purchase a vehicle by providing down payment assistance and loan options.

ONTARIO, Calif. – The task of finding a replacement for California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues President and CEO Bill Cheney is underway, as the two leagues on Monday named the members of a search committee and identified San Francisco-based O’Rourke and Associates as the search firm.

WASHINGTON – Fannie Mae requested an additional $8.4 billion in government aid after reporting a huge $13.1 billion loss for its first quarter.

WASHINGTON – Republican senators are expected to introduce an amendment to the “too-big-to-fail” bank bill tomorrow that would require the government to end its huge bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, estimated to cost as much as $250 billion, and privatize the two secondary mortgage market giants.

DAVIS, Calif. – A new study by the University of California Graduate School of Management questions whether payday loans offered by credit unions are a preferable to traditional payday lenders and whether such credit can be provided profitably.

Omni Community CU, Battle Creek, Mich., has distributed the first round of its annual Omni Gives Back Grant program, representing about half of the $40,000 the CU will distribute to local charities. The first round of grants went to the Calhoun County Chapter of American Red Cross, All Species Kinship of Battle Creek, Domestic and Sexual Abuse Services of St. Joeseph County, Leila Aboretum of Battle Creek and Three Rivers Area Mentoring of Three Rivers. Separately, the CU held a bake sale and raised $500 for Relay for Life.

Events

ANCHORAGE, Alaska-Alaska USA FCU last week said its CUSO, Alaska USA Insurance Brokers, has agreed to acquire Rainier Pacific Insurance Services, a one-time subsidiary of credit union-convert Rainier Pacific Bank currently owned by Oregon's Umpqua Bank.