A study of New Mexico breast-feeding mothers found that their infants, on average, received only one-quarter the recommended amount of a nutrient needed for brain development -– among the lowest levels in the world. The Alamogordo woman who called Barack Obama a “Muslim socialist” and said she believes “Muslims are our enemies,” says she won’t resign her two positions in the Otero County Republican Party. Democrats swept the three top offices in a mock election held at Las Cruces High School Thursday. Two men have given up their fight to remove crosses from Las Cruces’ logo after losing an appeal against the city, whose name means “the crosses” in Spanish. And an Albuquerque school board member says he’d like to see a new middle school named after internationally acclaimed author Tony Hillerman, for whom a memorial mass will be held in Albuquerque this morning.

Mom’s milk lacks essential nutrient, study shows

The milk of nursing mothers in New Mexico has low levels of a nutrient crucial to brain and vision development, a University of New Mexico (UNM) researcher says, and the deficiency could cost children up to six IQ points, according to a report in this morning’s Albuquerque Journal.

A UNM study of 29 breast-feeding mothers found that their infants, on average, received only one-quarter the recommended amount of DHA, an omega-3 essential fatty acid found most abundantly in seafood, the Journal said. According to the Journal:

Biochemist Robert Glew, the study’s lead author, said the findings are valuable despite the small number of women who completed the study. More than 100 studies have examined women’s DHA levels in more than 50 countries, Glew said, and New Mexico falls near the bottom.

The women who completed the study were nearly evenly divided between Hispanics and Anglos. UNM recently began a similar study of Native American women. Glew said the results call for a larger study of women in the Southwest.

Stirman says she won’t resign

Marcia Stirman of Alamogordo is rejecting a request that she resign from the Otero County GOP’s executive committee and says she will not resign, if asked, as chair of the Republican Women of Otero County over her controversial remarks about Muslims in a letter to the editor published in the Alamogordo Daily News, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting.

Stirman said she received a letter Tuesday from Otero County GOP Chairwoman Sassy Tinling asking for Stirman’s resignation from the county GOP’s executive committee by today, according to the Journal, which reported:

Stirman said Thursday that neither Tinling nor the county party has asked her to resign from her post as chair of Republican Women of Otero County. … Stirman said she did not plan to resign from the executive committee or as chair of the Republican Women of Otero County. In fact, she plans to seek another two-year term as chair of the women’s group when members meet next Wednesday to elect officers.

Stirman also said her comments have been misunderstood. She said she never meant to suggest that all Muslims are America’s enemies, only that those “who are trying to kill us” are.

The Alamogordo Daily News Web site received over 800 comments about the letter, and Stirman said she received more than 700 phone calls at her home, more than three-fourths of them positive. She said some calls were threatening and she filed a police report about the matter.

Democrats win at Las Cruces High School

They say mock elections held in schools generally indicate real election outcomes, in that student voters pretty much parallel their parents’ views. If so, at least one section of Las Cruces is going Democrat, as that party swept the three top offices in a mock election held at Las Cruces High School (LCHS) Thursday, according to the Las Cruces Sun News.

With all students at LCHS, grades nine-12 voting during first period classes, Barack Obama netted 866 votes, or 73 percent, vs. 249 votes (21 percent) for Republican John McCain, social studies teacher Sal Estrada told the Sun-News. Other candidates running for president received 72 votes, or 6 percent.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Tom Udall received 712 votes (60 percent) to 475 votes (40 percent) for Republican Steve Pearce, the paper said, and in the race for the U.S. House seat, 2nd Congressional District, Democrat Harry Teague received 712 votes (60 percent) to 475 votes (40 percent) for Republican Ed Tinsley.

Estrada said the total number of votes cast was 1,187.

No more crosses to bear

Two men have given up their fight to remove crosses from Las Cruces’ logo after appellate judges rejected a request to rehear their lawsuit against the city, whose name means “the crosses” in Spanish, The Associated Press reports.

Paul Weinbaum said he and co-plaintiff Martin Boyd decided not to pursue further action because of the cost and a U.S. Supreme Court he views as conservative.

Hillerman worthy of honor

Albuquerque school board member Robert Lucero says he’d like to see the West Side middle school under construction near Volcano Vista High named after novelist and educator Tony Hillerman, the Albuquerque Journal reports.

Lucero told the Journal he has the support of West Side activist Laura Horton, who reportedly plans to submit a petition to the school board, which must approve all school names.

In addition to being a best-selling author, Hillerman, who died Sunday, was a respected journalist and professor at the University of New Mexico. Naming a school after him could spark in students an interest in his books and in the Navajo culture about which he so affectionately and accurately wrote. It would be a fitting legacy and an unassailable asset for the city he called home.