Reality shows have an upside after all

As Hawaii officials debate the relative merits of the public schools’ sex-ed program, there’s a relevant new finding nationally: MTV’s “16 and Pregnant” essentially serves as birth control.

Critics accused the cable channel of glamorizing teen pregnancy when the show premiered in 2009. But it turns out that the camera’s unflinching look at the trials of premature parenting contributed to a 5.7 percent drop in teen births in the 18 months after the show premiered, according to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

“I think the takeaway here is that media can be, and often is, a force for good,” Bill Albert, chief program officer at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, told CNN.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day worth more than a day

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal and state holiday observed here with a number of events honoring the legacy of one of our nation’s greatest civil rights leaders.

On Saturday there was the “Emancipation Freedom Run/Walk” and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Gala; on Sunday, there was the annual Nagasaki Peace Bell ceremony. Today, there is the 26th annual parade and unity rally, starting at 9 a.m. through Waikiki.

There also will be four film documentaries presented for free throughout this year that focus on the civil rights movement, sponsored by the African American Diversity Cultural Center, which will post dates and locations soon on its website, at aadch.org. We have a dream that those film showings will be well attended.