Alan Austerman

The capital budget was obviously a hot potato this year. But now that we're approaching the July deadline for its approval, it's worth taking a look at some items included during the final days and wondering how Gov. Parnell might wield his veto pen.

Never underestimate the controversy that will attach itself to any enterprise related to the Pebble prospect. The latest debate revolves around the Legislature's reappropriation of $750,000 from last year's budget to fund a third-party interdisciplinary study of the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts of large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed.