As we blogged about it on Friday, it appears that McDonald's on South Gloster near the Crosstown area (and located next to a Wendy's) is headed for a new home.

The city planning department had plans for a new McDonald's at the corner of President and South Gloster.

Nothing's been officially confirmed, but we hear that a deal is being worked out. How long it may take to get a new McD's up and running depends on how long it takes for the company to get the land.

We'll keep you updated as we get word.

Newsflash (sorry, couldn't resist) from the AP: Disney is no longer scanning riders on Splash Mountain and a three other rides for guests who feel the need to flash for souvenir photos.

Disney confirmed Tuesday that it has reassigned employees at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure who watched for breast-baring riders because “actual inappropriate behaviors by guests are rare.”

Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown says the changes took effect Sunday at Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Space Mountain and California Screamin’.

Riders are photographed on the attractions and can then buy souvenir copies. Some have exposed their breasts in hopes that the picture would make it onto a photo preview screen at the ride’s exit.

The company began the screening about 10 years ago.

Don't think we'll be seeing any of these hitting showroom floors anytime soon, but a chocolate-fueled race car has been developed by scientists in Great Britain. The vehicle is powered by waste from chocolate factories and is made party from plant fibers. And they hope it can reach 145 mph.

From the AP:

The car runs on vegetable oils and chocolate waste that has been turned into biofuel. The steering wheel is made out of plant-based fibers derived from carrots and other root vegetables, and the seat is built of flax fibre and soybean oil foam. The body is also made of plant fibers.

Scientists at the University of Warwick say their car is the fastest to run on biofuels and also be made from biodegradable materials. It has been built to Formula 3 specifications about the car’s size, weight, and performance.

Their claims cannot be independently verified.

They hope it can reach speeds of over 145 mph when it is tested on a racetrack in a few weeks time. They have driven it at around 60 mph and are now making final adjustments to the engine before driving it at top speed.

The car, named the “WorldFirst Formula 3 racing car,” will go on display at several races including the European Grand Prix and Britain’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

This one's for you, Carlie, from the AP:

The Environmental Protection Agency says that corn ethanol — as made today — has a worse impact on climate than gasoline when land use changes are considered.

But EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Tuesday that future improvements in production technologies are expected to make ethanol and other biofuels more climate friendly than gasoline. The EPA, in a preliminary assessment of ethanol, said worldwide changes in land use must be considered when assessing ethanol’s impact on climate change.

Some scientists say that by using more land to grow ethanol crops, there is an increase in greenhouse gases as vegetation that absorbs carbon is replaced.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama issued a directive to find ways to get automakers to make more cars that can run on ethanol and to make ethanol more widely available at fueling stations.

Work on the Jos. A. Bank store is progressing quite well, and MBC General Manager Jeff Snyder said the men's apparel store should be open sometime this summer, perhaps in July.

As for my inquiry into ULTA, which had blueprints in the planning department, Jeff wasn't able to confirm - or deny - that the beauty store was getting ready to go. But all the signs seem to be pointing to an "official" announcement soon.

In other words, the mall folks are waiting for ULTA to sign on the bottom line, i.e., agree to the lease terms.

Jeff did say there were some "exciting" things on the way to the Mall, too.

If your 401(k) is now a 201(k) – or 911(k) as I call it – you're probably wondering if you'll ever get your money back. The past few weeks on Wall Street have been a lot better, to be sure, and there are signs of hope. Still, the ride ain't over.

According to a survey conducted for Edward Jones, about 39 percent of Americans think it will take at least three years to recover the value of their retirement savings.

Twenty percent said it would take fewer than three years, while nearly 25 percent f said it would take at least six years. Only 4 percent expect to get their money back by 2010 (talk about seeing the glass half-full; this is overflowing. But I hope they're right.)

More from the study from Opinion Reseach Corp, on behalf of Edward Jones:

Other survey findings show that 45% of Hispanics expect it will take longer than three years to recover their savings, compared with 35% of African Americans, who have the highest percentage of individuals who are not saving for retirement at 37%. That compares with 27% of Hispanics and 20% of whites, who are not savings for retirement.

(Hey, what about Asians?)

Differences in household income also had an impact on responses. Higher earners are more likely to save for retirement than lower earners (85% vs. 50%). The survey also found that respondents with a higher income believe it will take more than three years to recover retirement savings, compared with lower earners (52% vs. 26% respectively).

Because of the recession, online retailers are shifting more of their advertising to Facebook, Twitter and e-mai, since they're less expensive than "traditional" advertising.

From the AP:

According to a study to be released today by Forrester Research for Shop.org. – which is the online arm of the National Retail Federation – the survey found that merchants believe online business is better suited to withstand an economic downturn than physical stores or catalogs, though they acknowledge challenges for both.

The companies, which Shop.org didn’t name, reported scaling back hiring and their increasingly expensive search marketing programs, which include paying for top billing in the results consumers see for their Web searches. Online merchants whose business is beating expectations will likely fuel much of the e-commerce investments in the coming months, the survey found.

Developing social media marketing requires some investment in personnel, he said, but many merchants see big opportunities to spread a positive message about their brand for relatively low cost.

A growing number of stores and manufacturers, including Walmart Stores Inc. and General Mills Inc., for example, are encouraging bloggers to test their products and write about them on their sites.

Oh, this is too good to be true. President Barack Obama, joined by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, announced a new plan to go after tax evaders and offshare tax shelters.

From the AP:

The president said at a White House event that his plan would generate $210 billion in new taxes over 10 years and “make it easier” for companies to create jobs at home. Over a decade, $210 billion would make a modest dent in a federal deficit expected to swell to $1.2 trillion in 2010.

Under the plan, companies would not be able to write off domestic expenses for generating profits abroad. The goal is to reduce the incentive for U.S. companies to base all or part of their operations in other countries.

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Here's the goodie:

“Nobody likes paying taxes, particularly in times of economic stress,” Obama said. “But most Americans meet their responsibilities because they understand that it’s an obligation of citizenship, necessary to pay the costs of our common defense and our mutual well-being.”

The current tax code, he said, makes it too easy for “a small number of individuals and companies to abuse overseas tax havens to avoid paying any taxes at all.”

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner joined Obama for the announcement. He said the proposals would end “indefensible tax breaks and loopholes which allow some companies and some well-off citizens to evade the rules that the rest of America lives by.”

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Note that Geithner ran into a tax problem prior to his approval. He failed to pay some Social Security taxes from 2001-2004. An honest mistake – but not a good sign if you're supposed to be heading the Treasury Department.

And then there were those three other nominees of Obama's that had tax issues, two of whom dropped out.

I find today's message from the White House rather amusing.

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R. Allen Stanford, the CEO of the disgraced Stanford Financial Group, and who is accused of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme, tried to turn himself in to authorities yesterday.

Here's the AP story:

R. Allen Stanford, accused by federal regulators in a civil complaint of running an $8 billion investment fraud, tried to turn himself in to federal marshals in Houston on Thursday, but they didn’t take him into custody because no warrant has been issued for him.

The Houston Chronicle reported in its online edition that Stanford and his lawyer marched the few blocks from attorney Dick DeGuerin’s office to the federal courthouse to “surrender.”

“We’re doing this to show he’s not running,” DeGuerin said. “He’ll face whatever they’ve got for him.”

Stanford, his company insignia eagle pin on his lapel, stood nearby as DeGuerin told a woman at the U.S. Marshal’s office that they wanted to “surrender him into custody,” the newspaper reported.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Stanford of running a Ponzi scheme. Stanford has denied the allegations and said if there was fraud, he wasn’t involved in it.

“I’m going to fight this thing with everything in me,” Stanford said. He said he also wanted to battle speculation that he would flee if he were charged with a crime.

Stanford, who has lived mainly in the Caribbean the past few years, said he had moved into an apartment in Houston.

DeGuerin said they took Thursday’s steps because he wanted to make it clear that Stanford is available to authorities.

He said he wanted to avoid a “perp walk,” in which an accused person is placed in handcuffs and escorted before the media.

“A perp walk will be adverse to his right to a fair trial,” said DeGuerin.

Justice Department attorney Paul Pelletier declined comment, the newspaper reported.

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Just got off the phone with Rudy Dossett Jr., who said the annual Rebel-Bulldog Sale, which ends today, will go to the Rebels.

The winner gets steak, the losers get beans, as the saying goes. With a 100-point lead that's insurmountable, the Rebels will taste steak at a Monday night dinner, Dossett said.

Also, he said the Bulldogs have won the vast majority of the previous sales, probably by "two and a half" times.

Oh well. Another reason for me to hate the Rebels.

Hope they choke on it. Just kidding!! Really.