Baldwin Hills, the teen-focused reality show that is marketed as BET's answer to Laguna Beach and The Hills, premiered with a respectable (for BET) 1.5 million viewers on Tuesday. As 2007-2008 BET premieres go, the show comes in second place after Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is, meaning troubled R&B stars are more compelling to BET viewers than upper-middle-class kids and their overbearing parents. But how do Baldwin Hills' second season premiere numbers compare to its counterpart at MTV?

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• Black political scientists, besides the big-names like Donna Brazile, are largely overlooked by news stations, although "the black vote" is always being discussed. [BAW]

• Diabetes is especially bad in New York City, particularly (surprise!) among blacks and Hispanics. [NYDN]

• Baldwin Hills both busts and reinforces stereotypes. [NYT]

• Management at a California Ritz-Carlton should have treated their black and Hispanic employees a bit better. [CC]

• Older black women at high risk can't really be bothered with getting tested for HIV. [SD]