BUILDING BAPTISTS: You can’t tell by its...

BUILDING BAPTISTS: You can’t tell by its name, but the Saddleback Community Church is Baptist. When it was formed in 1980, its leaders discovered at focus group sessions that the term Baptist didn’t go over well with those they hoped to reach. . . . “Every response was negative,” says its executive pastor, Glen Kreun. “You just have to use words that people appreciate.” . . . After 15 years of meeting in high school gyms and tents, the church holds the grand opening this weekend for its first permanent building, at 1 Saddleback Parkway in Lake Forest.

DON’T ASK ‘SIS’: If military hero Colin Powell plans to run for president, you’d think he’d at least tell his older sister, Marilyn Berns, a longtime Orange County resident and retired schoolteacher. . . . Her phone has been ringing constantly from friends and others asking that question. Her answer: “I’m saying I don’t know if he’ll run, and no one believes me. I don’t know that he’s made up his mind.” Berns is curious too, but when she asks, he just shrugs his shoulders.

JUMBO IMAGE: What Cal State Fullerton has long needed, says President Milton A. Gordon, is an image that “creates a powerful first impression and provides continuity over time.” On Tuesday, it unveiled its new logo--the tusked elephant. . . . Beginning next year, it will be on every piece of Cal State Fullerton stationery, plus business cards, brochures, T-shirts and caps. . . . Why an elephant? It’s already the school mascot, but officials say it also is “regal” and a “symbol of intelligence and strength.”

CHECK IT OUT: Firefighters sometimes get medals or special commendations for doing their job. But a free checking account? That’s what officials at Downey Savings offered members of the Newport Beach Fire Department recently after they extinguished a blaze at the bank’s headquarters. The offer is good for 12 months and worth about $125. . . . Says Fire Chief Timothy D. Riley: “It’s a very kind gesture; I’m sure some will take advantage of the offer.”