GOD TO GOURMET: The historic-minded in Orange...

GOD TO GOURMET: The historic-minded in Orange were sorry to see the Antioch Baptist Church close in Old Towne. Its 102-year-old building was home to the city’s first Baptist church. But the new owner, Gary Mead Sr., hopes residents will be pleased with his $500,000 in renovations. . . . His P.J.’s Abbey Restaurant and Coffee Bar will open there in February. He has kept the structure’s original Belgian stained-glass windows and restored its steeple, toppled by the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Says Mead: “We’re committed to retaining its integrity, inside and out.”

SMALL & BETTER? There’s a community debate Tuesday night at the Irvine Market Place on whether privatization of county services is an answer to the bankruptcy problem. It’s a timely issue; the same night, a new charter will be presented to supervisors, possibly opening the way to widespread privatization. . . . Says Jeanne Costales of Partnership for Responsible Public Policy, the debate sponsor: “It’s an old question: Is smaller government really better?” . . . Moderator will be Saddleback College President Ned Doffoney.

NEW BIOLOGY: A small but growing number of schoolteachers in Southern California are incorporating animal-rights issues into the curriculum (E1). Ava Park, founder of Orange County People for Animals, who is occasionally asked to speak to students, says teachers often have been resistant to her visits because she opposes dissection. . . . But even that is changing. Some now have computer models. In Park’s view, that means “there’s no reason to cut up animals anymore.”

NO MORE QUICK DRAW: Irvine’s $16-million underpass on Culver Drive, which opened in October, didn’t remain virgin concrete for long. It quickly became a tagger’s paradise. . . . But Irvine is fighting back: New rugged landscaping atop the underpass makes it difficult for taggers to descend from the street above, their preferred entry route. Also, the city vows to remove any graffiti within 24 hours--and police are heavily patrolling the area.