Political junkies: close races could be decided by absentee and other ballots counted many days after the election.

In the last few days before an election, it’s pretty common for political groups to start playing fast and loose with Alaska’s campaign finance laws — and the state’s cash-strapped campaign finance regulators say they’d need a larger staff to monitor all the ads in the last-minute barrage.

Donlin Gold, the company developing a proposed gold mine in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, says that it hopes to get most of its major permits out of the way this year. But so far, progress has been a bit slow.

As the Arctic warms, Hilcorp is already having to tweak its proposal to accommodate climate change. And future companies looking to drill offshore in the Arctic may have additional changes to plan for.

Part of the uncertainty on how the salmon habitat initiative Ballot Measure 1 could affect things like small-scale hydro projects or mom-and-pop placer mines hinges on a single phrase in the ballot measure: “significant adverse effects.” 

Until a late influx of money in the final weeks of the campaign, most of the cash for the pro-Dunleavy independent expenditure group came from two people: Dunleavy’s brother Francis, and Bob Penney, the developer and recreational fishing advocate who’s long donated to Republican candidates and causes.

It’s a growing national issue: A foam used to suppress oil fires can leach into the environment and contaminate groundwater.

Climate change and rural aviation are major issues in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. And Sen. Lisa Murkowski addressed both during her visit to the region last week.

For the past four years, Begich has owned a public affairs and consulting firm, working with clients that intersect with state government. If elected, he’ll likely be faced with decisions that will directly affect the businesses, unions and Native organizations that have been paying his business for advice.

How one oil field got more than $95 million in unique state or state-backed loans from Alaska.