Good morning and welcome to the Freedom New Mexico Wednesday morning briefing.

Water meeting: The Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority will meet 10 a.m. Thursday at the Yam Theater in Portales. It is the first meeting since the announcement that Ute Water Project Manager Scott Verhines was named the next state engineer.

The meeting is expected to take two hours.

Playoff football: There are four state football playoff games with local ties this weekend, three of them Saturday.

In Class 2A, Texico hosts Santa Rosa 7 p.m. Friday in the Class 2A semifinals.

In 8-man football, Melrose goes for its fourth-straight championship 1 p.m. Saturday at Gateway Christian.

In Class 1A, Fort Sumner plays 1 p.m. Saturday against Mesilla Valley for the state title. The game will be played at Gadsden High School.

In Albuquerque, Wilson Stadium will host a 2 p.m. Class 5A quarterfinal between Clovis and Manzano.

Today in history: On this day in 2001, the British author J.K. Rowling’s star creation--bespectacled boy wizard Harry Potter--makes his big-screen debut in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which opens in movie theaters across the United States. Based on the mega-best-selling fantasy novel of the same name, the film, which starred Daniel Radcliffe in the title role, went on to become one of the highest-grossing movies in history.

The first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, debuted in Great Britain in 1997 and was released in the United States the following year under the nameHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. For the rest of the story, click here.

Weather: Still no chance of precipitation, still clear skies. A high of 57 in the day, and a low of 28 at night. Winds around 10 mph.