FAIRFAX, Va. – Apple FCU, which serves the area’s education community, will open a new branch in nearby Vienna Thursday, the second of four new facilities planned for this year.

ANDERSON, Ind. – Independent FCU yesterday said it has signed with LEVEL5 design and build its new main office and combined retail branch.

BOULDER, Colo. – Elevations CU yesterday said it has implemented GMT Planet, a workforce and performance management solution to improve its contact service levels.

LENEXA, Kan. – U.S. Central FCU reported the continuing decline in the mortgage market created larger losses in its portfolio of mortgage backed securities, even as it eliminates increasing amounts from market value evaluations.

DENVER – Hundreds of debit cards were rendered inoperable and phone lines were jammed yesterday when Public Service CU moved to convert data processing for the former members of Norlarco CU.

WASHINGTON – A long-time NCUA examiner has filed suit against the federal agency and its examiners’ union, the National Treasury Employees Union, claiming the year-old contract the two sides entered into violates federal worker rules.

DURHAM, N.C. – The Center for Community Self-Help, which operates the nation’s most prominent community development credit union, yesterday said it was granted a charter by NCUA to develop a new federal credit union that will allow it to offer financial services in California and elsewhere outside its home state.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California state legislature yesterday overwhelmingly approved a data security bill largely crafted by credit unions for the second year in a row, hoping that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will not veto it, as he did last year.

IOWA CITY – University of Iowa Community CU is planning to build a 30,000 square-foot headquarters and branch in the northeast corner of the city.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – Resources FCU said last week it has acquired 27 Opteva advanced functionality ATMs from Diebold.

TEMPE, Ariz. – Altier CU is offering members and non-members up to 1.25% of a loan back in cash as part of a new or used auto loan.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees CU said Friday they have renew a long-term card branding deal with Visa for another 10 years, through 2018.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Numerica CU awarded $1,500 to a local business owner in an essay contest asking "What do you want?"

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Representatives of Black Hills FCU and area educators distributed more than 50,000 donated school supplies last week as part of the credit union’s annual school supply drive.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Drivers began lining up at just after midnight Thursday to take advantage of the $1.81-a-gallon gas special at the Kwik Way station–a courtesy of Billings FCU.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Insight Financial CU announced Friday it had removed its two top executives and named named Richard Simonton, its chief financial officer, as president and CEO.

GLEN ROCK, N.J. – NCUA charged in federal court that former executives and directors of Peoples First Choice FCU siphoned millions of dollars from the one-time $25 million credit union, forcing it into the arms of the federal regulator amid a $5 million loss, one of the biggest losses in the country last year.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Golden 1 CU said last week that NCUA had helped it acquire ailing 1st United FCU, one of several troubled credit unions seeking merger mates.

HONOLULU – Aloha Airlines FCU, whose corporate sponsor filed for bankruptcy in March, was approved by NCUA for a so-called TIP charter allowing it to serve any and all air industry employees in Hawaii.

WASHINGTON – Fourteen credit unions and affiliated organizations were awarded more than $5.6 million in funding last week from the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions program, up slightly from last year’s $5.3 million in awards.