Credits

The Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland has issued a consumer alert regarding two credit card scams that are appearing on the Internet. "Consumers are receiving e-mails from scammers stating that they represent Best Buy or the Discover Card Co.," Nicholas G. Greaves, president of the local Better Business Bureau, said. "In both cases involving Best Buy, the e-mailers contend that they are from the BestBuy.com Fraud Department. They request information such as the consumers' social security number and credit card information.

The City of Hagerstown's assets exceeded its liabilities by $224.8 million in fiscal year 2008, City Finance Director Alfred Martin said Tuesday during a Hagerstown City Council work session. The city's total assets were $290.8 million, compared to $66 million in total liabilities, according to audit documents. The city's net assets in 2007 were $208.9 million. "It means we're continuing to invest in our city's future," Martin said as he presented the council with highlights from the city's 2008 audit.

Bulldog Federal Credit Union will award $500 scholarships to two students, one male and one female, who exhibit high scholastic achievement and character, in order to help them continue their formal education beyond high school. To qualify, applicants must be high school seniors accepted to an accredited college or technical school. They must also be members of Bulldog Federal Credit Union, and they must be able to fulfill other requirements as described in the scholarship guidelines.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Pennsylvania State Police were investigating a robbery Monday at Grove Community Federal Credit Union, 11125 Bemisderfer Road. Police said the credit union, which is at the intersection of Bemisderfer Road and Pa. 16, was robbed at about 11:15 a.m. The robber entered the building, demanded money and then fled with the cash in an unknown direction, police said. The man was described as black with a dark complexion and about 5 feet 6 inches tall with a medium build, according to police.

Your credit history is a written record that summarizes what type of credit you have used and your history of making payments on time. You should want to know what your lenders are saying about you. Your credit report contains a great deal of information about you and you have a right to see (and should want to examine) a credit report that describes the information in your credit file. Reviewing your credit file/report is very important. You have a right to see your credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies: Trans Union, Equifax and Experian.

HAGERSTOWN - After explaining that at least half of The Superlatives show choir members had not been on stage before, Korby Moss Sanders introduced 10 young people who performed as if they'd been born in a theater. An appreciative audience of 70 to 80 people attended Friday evening's "Made in the USA" production at Hagerstown Community College's Kepler Theater. "We've put together a history of American music," Sanders said. That included blues, rock 'n' roll, Motown and Broadway show tunes through the years.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - A school for the arts in Hagerstown and a historic house in Sharpsburg are among 46 projects approved for state preservation tax credits. The Maryland Historical Trust on Wednesday announced $20 million in tax credits for buildings either on the National Register of Historic Places or that qualify to be on it. Cho Benn Holback + Associates, a Baltimore architectural firm, received a $1.4 million tax credit to renovate a past Elks lodge on South Potomac Street in Hagerstown.

Tax credits approved for enterprise zones By SCOTT BUTKI / Staff Writer The Washington County Commissioners have authorized $1.3 million in property tax credits to companies and property owners in four state-designated enterprise zones. continued It is the highest amount of tax credits the county has ever authorized for the enterprise zones, the first of which was created in 1991, said Tim Troxell, assistant director of the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission.

People who shop with a credit card usually spend more than people who pay cash. While that can be a disadvantage to shopping with a card, there are times when using a credit card can be advantageous for consumers. Using a credit card to pay for car repairs is a good example. By the time the bill arrives, a driver should know whether or not a repair has been completed. Travel is another. A credit card usually is necessary to reserve an airline ticket, hotel room or rental car. If accommodations fail to live up to advertised claims, credit card companies can be helpful in resolving a dispute.