SAN RAMON, Calif. -- If you didn't realize that a gas station near you was a Texaco, there's a good chance that you soon will. The new Texaco 2020 image is designed to increase the visibility of Texaco, according to Craig Peterhansen, U.S. East Retail general manager.

Rolled out earlier this year and becoming a requirement for new stations Oct. 1, the refreshed Texaco image has a brighter and crisper look and feel, according to the company, including a change in canopy lettering from red to white and enhanced lighting over the pump islands. Signage and other components have also been streamlined or changed to provide a modernized, fresher look.

LOS ANGELES -- Efforts to create a "24-hour Broadway" took a step forward last week, but it wasn't the theaters leading the charge. Nearly a year after signing a lease in the ground floor of the SB Grand Lofts at 5th and Broadway in Los Angeles, a new 7-Eleven opened its doors last Friday to decent crowds, according to blogdowntown, which linked to an ABC News Nightline report detailing Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc.'s penetration in the L.A. market.

DALLAS -- Even as Blockbuster Inc. tests soda fountains and added snack offers in it movie rental stores in an effort to turn its fortunes around, the company could close as many as 960 stores by the end of 2010, relying more on kiosks to rent DVDs and video games, as it tries to reverse its losses and fend off rapidly growing rivals Netflix and Redbox, reported the Associated Press.