HOUSTON - Walk into the Houston branch of JSC FCU and you might see a Russian cosmonaut doing business with member services. You won’t be able to tell him apart from the rest of the members, except for the interpreter by his side.

By Lisa Freeman, Managing Editor

By Lisa Freeman, Managing Editor

GREAT FALLS, Mont. – A woman who pleaded guilty to robbing Community FCU in 2006 while wearing a wig and a fake goatee on Wednesday was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 10 years suspended.

OKLAHOMA CITY – WEOKIE CU said it has granted 20 scholarships totaling $30,000 to high school students in the Oklahoma City metro area.

BOISE, Idaho – Idahy FCU said it promoted Connie Miller, its chief financial officer for the past 10 years, to be its president and CEO.

SEATTLE – Share CU said it has agreed to merge into Watermark CU, creating one of the largest credit unions in the Puget Sound area.

YAKIMA, Wash. – Yakima Valley CU yesterday announced the appointment of Mina Worthington as its new president and CEO.

BEAUMONT, Texas – EducationFirst FCU yesterday said it has signed contracts with Kroger and Brookshire Brothers to build as many as nine in-store branches in southeast Texas by the end of 2009.

McLEAN, Va. – Long-term mortgages were unchanged from last week, holding at their highest rates since mid-March, according to Freddie Mac.

SANTIAGO, Chile – Why would women from the U.S. travel to the male-dominated culture of Latin America to learn about female leadership? Perhaps because Chile’s largest credit union has a woman at the helm.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pentagon FCU said it has boosted its mortgage lending more than 50% for the first quarter as increasing numbers of members are refinancing their loans.

WASHINGTON – Five weeks after being promised a Senate version of CURIA–the CU Regulatory Improvements Act–the credit union lobby still is waiting for the bill, as a second shoe to drop.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The NCUA Board next week is expected to approve the unusual combination of a credit union with a mutual savings bank.

WASHINGTON – The Senate finally passed a mortgage rescue bill yesterday after debating on the legislation for a week, during which it eliminated a controversial provision that would have allowed troubled borrowers to have a bankruptcy court restructure their home loans.

ALBANY, N.Y. – A man who allegedly robbed Marcy FCU Tuesday was arrested yesterday after he used a taxi for his getaway from Utica to Colonie.

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – Lasertec, Inc., a provider of document production services based here that works with numerous credit unions, has been reassuring customers that it is alive, well and prospering after the similarly named Lasertech of Madison, Wis., shut down last week.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees CU yesterday announced it is partnering with the North Carolina National Guard Association to provide two scholarships worth $15,000 to family members of Guardsmen who have been become permanently disabled or deceased during active duty.

GROTON, Conn. – Charter Oak FCU last week opened a student-run branch at Robert E. Fitch High School to kick off its Focused on Finances program.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – DuPage CU said Extractable has designed and implemented a new website aimed at easing and increasing use for its members.