Callie Crossley

“You’re the reason I couldn’t get a job here before now!”

You know how you feel when you find that extra $20 crumpled in a coat pocket? It’s a delightful surprise even if you’re already flush, and a pleasant relief if you’re scraping by at month’s end.

We taxpayers were both surprised and relieved when a few weeks back the folks on Beacon Hill revealed a surplus in tax monies. Turns out the collected taxes came in higher than predicted, so Massachusetts now has more than a few crumpled dollars. By April’s end, an estimated $510 million more.

On that special day of remembrance, a parade of 3,000 school children carrying roses; women with baskets of flowers, wreaths and crosses, followed by both local men and a cadre of soldiers marching in cadence. The procession ended at the local cemetery with a program of speeches, Bible readings, and patriotic songs, including the Star Spangled Banner.

We’ve been lied to — again.

There’s no rest in peace for Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and for a lot of people that’s just as it should be. Many ask why should someone who did something so evil be granted the dignity of a burial? So all last week the accused bomber’s body was the topic. In limbo at the Worcester funeral home where it has been prepared in accordance with the Muslim religion. Protestors outside clamoring for the body to be thrown to the sharks, while political leaders insisting approval for the internment was not a government decision.

In the bike wars, I’m an innocent bystander. I have great respect for cyclists who bike for convenience, or health, but I’m most often behind the wheel of a car.

New Englanders call it raw, that chilly, damp weather that cuts right to the bone no matter how many layers of clothing. Last week — deep into April — we had some of those days.

In the smoke and confusion of last week’s explosions I note echoes of horrors past.

There they were last week, in wheel chairs blocking traffic on Beacon Hill. A group of four seniors and the disabled planted themselves in front of the State House; they hoped to get the attention of lawmakers debating a funding bill for overhauling and updating the state’s aging transportation system.

Curt Schilling's greatest moment came in Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series. Schilling pitched through a sutured and bloodied right ankle to take away the game — and later the series — from the Yankees.

Less than 8 years later Schilling's fortune has damnably and irrevocably reversed itself. The wizardry that flummoxed baseball's biggest hitters didn't translate to a reliable business acumen. Curt Schilling's videogame company, 38 Studios, is bust, and he's up to his ears in losses and debt.

Imagine being in the voting booth this November. You’re about to cast your vote for president, so what’s going through your mind? Whose tax returns did I have full access to? Which candidate released  information about his offshore accounts? This may or may not influence how you vote but erring on the side of transparency is probably a wise thing for any political leader to do.

Two weeks ago, Boston law enforcement announced its biggest takedown of a Boston-area drug ring. We’re using this drug bust to look a little deeper into gang culture in Boston.

Over the last three years, more than 70% of Boston's homicide victims under the age of 24 were killed in gang-related circumstances. At the same time, it's only a small number of influencers who perpetuate gang violence. Our guest works to reduce these numbers using street-level intervention, showing the influencers that they have alternatives.

After more than a decade of planning and millions of dollars of investment, last week IKEA announced its decision to nix its plans to build a store at Assembly Square in Somerville. The decision could hinder Somerville’s efforts to redevelop the huge expanse of empty industrial property near 93.

Everyone knows that Olympic athletes put enormous strain on their bodies — but what about their bank accounts?

Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland recently visited the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, where she met high jumper Jamie Nieto. Nieto has two high school coaching jobs in addition to occasional work as an actor.

Vigeland told Boston Public Radio that Nieto's biggest expense is traveling to meets. The cost of flights, hotels, rental cars and meals can add up quickly.

Another shark appeared — this time in Nantucket — while New Bedford lawmakers attempt to stall the casino compact, and Providence sells "semi-private access" to streets near Brown and RISD. New Hampshire investigates nepotism in its state government, and Vermont cancelled its jail contract with the Franklin County Jail. It's the all news that didn't hit the front page but affects our lives — and merits our attention.

Anyone who’s been paying attention to the presidential race probably knows that Mitt Romney went on a road trip with his dog strapped to the roof of his car. President Obama ate an ice cream cone with a spoon. Both of them are blaming each other for outsourcing jobs. And one candidate — you choose who — is better equipped than the other to turn this economy around. But something we seldom hear about is Afghanistan and the consequences of the war, which has gone on for 11 years.

Long before it was cool to be a nerd, Jerry Siegel, a shy awkward kid in living in Cleveland channeled sleepless summer nights and an unfulfilled yearning for girls into the epic superhero of our lifetime: Superman. Eighty years later, Superman continues to be an American icon — one whose evolution is both intricately tied to and reflective of our country's cultural shifts.

The idea of a doctor showing up on your doorstep, with a doctor’s bag in hand, ready to treat whatever ails you probably sounds like something from another era. But a new initiative that’s part of the Affordable Care Act is bringing this bygone way of practicing medicine into the future.

Anyone who lives in Boston has probably been affected one way or the other by their city councilor. They’re the people you turn to to when you have concerns about parking, trash pickups, or, an a more serious note, an uptick in crime.

Well, your neighborhood's representation could be at stake. The city council is working on redrawing the city’s nine districts.

Last week the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association came under fire for publishing racist and sexist content in its bi-monthly newsletter. A few newsletter advertisers have since pulled their ads, and the union issued a statement about the newsletter, which was written by BPPA member Jim Carnell.

Trees do a lot for a city. Beyond their beauty, they’ve been shown to increase property values, reduce crime, and new research shows they can even enhance your brain power. As a result of these findings, the city of Boston has pledged to plant 100,000 trees before 2020, but progress is slow — it turns out planting trees is more expensive and controversial than anyone anticipated. We ask two environmental experts how to jumpstart the project.

In 2007 President Bush awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Medal of Honor. In 2009 President Obama invited them to his inaugural address. And in early 2012 George Lucas made a motion picture movie about them. On July 17, Mayor Menino will do his part to honor these men. The City of Boston is dedicating a bridge to the Tuskegee Airmen, the African American pilots who fought in World War II. We'll talk to one man whose father was a member of this elite bombardment squadron.

Massachusetts' Route 24 is often referred to as the most dangerous road in the state, and it's clear why. In the past week there have been four major car accidents resulting in three deaths and several hospitalizations; Sunday morning's wreck was so devastating that a grief counselor was sent to help the firefighters who responded to the call deal with the trauma of what they had witnessed. What isn't clear is why it's so dangerous. What about the road's construction causes these accidents and how can it be fixed?

We leave the national headlines behind and take a look at the hyperlocal stories that deserve our attention, even if they didn't make the front page. Today we focus on the ramifications of State Rep. Carlos Henriquez's arrest, what the state budget means for community colleges and a poll that revealed that  half of U.S. Hispanics identify as politically independent, as well as Harvard's Latino leadership initiative.

We haven’t found a way to cure obesity in America but we sure have found a lot of culprits to blame it on.  Supersized sodas are among the villains that we impugn for making us fat. Mayor Bloomberg’s gotten a real beating for banning them in New York, but one person who is on Bloomberg’s side is marketing professor Pierre Chandon. He says that without this mandated portion control, battling the bulge is going to be really hard.

After months of negotiating taxes, land use and policing, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has reached a casino deal with the governor. Earlier this year, the Mashpee tribe came to an agreement with the City of Taunton to build a $500 million casino that will include three hotels, restaurants, retail outlets and a water park. The project will be built over a 5-year period, but there are still several state and federal hurdles to overcome.

Every 10 minutes, someone in the United States contracts HIV. Half are black. Thirty years after the discovery of the AIDS virus among gay white men, nearly half of the one million people in the United States infected with HIV are black men, women and children.

A new FRONTLINE two-hour special, ENDGAME: AIDS in Black America, looks at one of our most preventable health crises.

Every 10 minutes, someone in the U.S. contracts HIV. Half are black. In fact, 30 years after the discovery of the AIDS virus among gay white men, nearly half of the 1 million people in the U.S. infected with HIV are African American men, women and children. A new Frontline special, "ENDGAME: AIDS in Black America," looks at one of our most preventable health crises. You can watch the documentary on WBGH 2 at 9 p.m. on July 10.