The autumn rains have returned to Redmond and snow has returned to the Cascades peaks that we can see from town.

That’s good news for the Deschutes Aquifer, an underground water source where Redmond gets its H2O. The city of Redmond is currently trying to make sure it has enough water for a future city of up to 55,000 residents. Those would be 55,000 people that water drink to drink and shower and wash their clothes.

The city’s application for additional water was denied, however, by the Oregon Department of Water Resources. That denial has been appealed and the state said it is currently reconsidering the status of the application.

We sorted through what the denial means at this time. Mayor Ed Fitch said if Redmond cannot access additional water in the future, it would pose an “existential” threat not just to Redmond, but to all Central Oregon cities. He said the state is wrong and their new policies have to be overturned.

Hope you read the story and send us your thoughts on it. It’s a complicated subject.

We sent out an email to readers about new reporter Joe Siess. He’s got a lot of fresh Redmond content this week and wants to know what you want to know more about. Email him your story ideas at jsiess@redmondspokesman.com.

There’s a lot more we’ve been working on. On Tuesday night, a number of local dignitaries met to discuss the current state of Oregon drug law under Measure 110 and how it could be changed in future legislative sessions. The discussion was held by the Redmond Patriots, a group of local conservatives that meets to debate political and cultural issues.

The feedback we heard from all political stripes was that the law needs to change, but the focus needs to remain on getting people help and getting people clean. Finding a middle ground between expensive, liberty-erasing incarceration and self-harming addiction seems to be the hard-to-find sweet spot for state law.

There are so many reality shows now that can be hard to keep up with them. But you might want to watch this one, which featured both a Redmond graduate and a Redmond teacher.

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— Tim Trainor is editor of the Redmond Spokesman.