Alaskans are fond of saying "it's our oil" when talking about the North Slope. Yet we as Alaskans have never invested in the development of "our oil.

...And those will come only through a project with the potential to actually be built. Paul Laird is general manager of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance.

The state might allow oil exploration equipment onto North Slope tundra weeks earlier than usual this winter based on a federally funded study of how the gear affects delicate arctic terrain.

Oil industry representatives are crying foul over a plan by Gov. Frank Murkowski to increase taxes on some North Slope oil fields, arguing the governor gave them no warning before announcing the decision.

In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision on corporate campaigning, observers say Alaska's political landscape will become even more malleable to industries' designs, while state lawmakers are trying to update, and possibly shore up, campaign laws before elections later this year.