ICYMI: These were the top stories this past week in the Journal

An increasing number of kids are getting sick from consuming edibles packaged to look like candy, APS announces its upcoming academic calendar and testimony in the trial for the "Rust" movie's armorer has begun. Here is a roundup of the top stories from this past week.

1. There is a growing trend of children getting sick after ingesting THC candies in New Mexico. Recreational marijuana was legalized for those 21 and over in the state in 2022. In 2023, there were 26 children treated for cannabis-related issues, eight of whom went to the ER. On the national front, the Federal Trade Commission and the federal Food and Drug Administration last year issued cease-and-desist letters to six companies selling THC edibles in packaging that mimicked popular snacks and candy consumed by children.

2. Albuquerque Public Schools board has approved next school year's academic calendar. The calendar was developed by a committee of district leadership and administrators, parents, principals, a teachers union representative and more.

2024-2025 academic calendar highlights:

• First day of school, Aug. 7

• Labor Day, Sept. 2

• Fall break, Oct. 11

• Indigenous Peoples Day, Oct. 14

• Election Day, Nov. 5

• Veterans Day, Nov. 11

• Thanksgiving break, Nov. 27-29

• Winter break, Dec. 23-Jan. 3

• Staff professional development, Jan. 6-7

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 20

• Presidents' Day, Feb. 17

• Spring break, March 17-21

• Vernal holiday, April 18

• Memorial Day, May 26

• Last day of school, May 30

3.A funeral was held Wednesday in El Paso for Las Cruces police officer Jonah Hernandez. Hernandez had been responding to a trespassing call on Feb. 11 at South Valley Drive in Las Cruces when he was stabbed to death by 29-year-old Armando Silva. A bystander who witnessed the event shot Silva to death and used Hernandez's radio to call for help. Hundreds of people came from across the country to pay respects to Hernandez.

Photos: Fallen Las Cruces Officer Jonah Hernandez laid to rest in El Paso

4. Testimony in the trial for the "Rust" movie's armorer began on Thursday. Hannah Gutierrez Reed, 26, was indicted in January 2023 with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence charges in the October 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the New Mexico set. Testimony began in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe. The trial is scheduled through March 6 before Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer.

5. Phone messages and covert recordings show Albuquerque police officer Joshua Montaño — who arrested Carlos Sandoval-Smith on DWI charges in June — taking Sandoval-Smith's bracelet, then allegedly telling him he could pick it up from an "attorney friend." When Sandoval-Smith went to retrieve his bracelet from the office of prominent defense attorney Thomas Clear III, he was allegedly told by Clear's paralegal, Ricardo "Rick" Mendez, that for $8,500 he could have the charges against him dropped. The allegations revolve around the prosecution of DWI cases and interactions between officers and the staff of a local law firm.

Good News: The second phase of the Mesa Del Sol Sports Complex has been completed. Four new artificial fields have been constructed and are part of a bigger plan to have 31 grass and artificial-turf fields at the complex. The aim is to draw regional soccer, football or lacrosse events from around the country.

Photos: First Kick at the Mesa Del Sol Sports Complex