SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Former D. Edward Wells FCU President Carol Aranjo, a one-time national spokesman for community development financial institutions, was found guilty this afternoon of conspiracy and embezzlement charges in the 2003 failure of the prominent CDCU.

HERMANTOWN, Minn. – Members Cooperative CU plans to dismantle a home at a site where it plans to build a new branch, and then donate the structure and its parts to Habitat for Humanity for resale or salvage.

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – First Community CU said its youngest members earned more than $7,000 through its “A's Reward Program” during the first semester of the 2007-2008 school year.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Southern Teachers & Parents FCU will provide down payment grants up to $1,000 each to low-income members who qualify for used car loans under a new pilot program.

LANDSTUHL, Germany – Service CU has become the first credit union to install an international shared branching kiosk at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center here.

AKRON, Ohio – Betty Phillips, the president and CEO of BFG FCU, is retiring at the end of the month after 50 years with the credit union, the past 40 as its chief executive.

MALONE, N.Y. – North Franklin FCU yesterday announced a “going green” promotion through which it will deposit $1 in each member’s share account for every energy-efficient light bulb the member buys, up to ten in number.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Arrowhead CU yesterday said it has hired MediaNet Group Technologies to create an online mall and affinity program where members can shop to spend their rewards.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The jury in the embezzlement trial of former community development credit union activist Carol Aranjo continued deliberations into a third day Wednesday night.

MADISON, Wis. – A credit union-backed data security bill that moved quickly through committee was tabled indefinitely by the State Assembly here Tuesday night, virtually killing the bill for this year.

ODESSA, Texas – A state court has allowed First Basin CU to schedule depositions for representatives of several out-of-state credit unions who they say financed efforts to derail the credit union’s conversion to a mutual savings bank.

COSTA MESA, Calif. – Experian yesterday said it is teaming with eBureau, a provider of credit scoring for underserved markets, to provide eBureau’s Emerging Credit Score, or eScore, to help lenders evaluate the creditworthiness of unbanked and underbanked borrowers.

PARIS, France – Oberthur Technologies, the world’s biggest cards manufacturer, said American Express has signed a long-term licensing agreement that will allow it to produce transparent payment cards for other issuers.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa CU Foundation yesterday said it has received a $10,000 grant from Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino through its 2007 Community Betterment Grant Program.

MADISON, Wis. – CUNA Mutual Group announced it has awarded a $50,000 grant to a community group that will train youth to rehabilitate homes.

AUSTIN, Texas – Amplify FCU said it is offering its Jwaala MoneyTracker personal financial management software to other credit unions.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Pentagon FCU said its PenFed Realty CUSO is offering rebates of 1% of the price of a home purchase to participating home buyers in the form of a closing credit at settlement.

EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. – Ten credit unions and credit union organizations have collaborated to help Community Trust CU of Modesto open a branch in this mostly Hispanic, low-income neighborhood. A grand opening is scheduled for Saturday.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California credit unions in 2007 had one of their worst years since the days of the savings and loan crisis two decades ago, according to a new report issued yesterday by the state’s Department of Financial Institutions.

ELKHART, Ind. – A suspect was arrested last weekend in the January robbery at Berrien Teachers CU that left an accomplice dead after a shootout with a credit union security guard.