👋💸 Say goodbye to the sales tax!

It’s Thursday, Boston.

📲 Kamala Harris isn’t the only politician who knows about brat summer. Gov. Maura Healey has also been dipping her toes into pop culture lately with this truly wild brat-themed reel set to “Von Dutch” and a spoof on Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” about the MBTA’s new tap-to-go system. Go off, we guess!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Debby might be a downer

• It’s summer pop-up season

• Bachelorette drama updates

Up first…

TAX-FREE WEEKEND

Mass.’ biggest sale of the year

Massachusetts gets to cosplay as New Hampshire this weekend. Aug. 10 and 11 mark the state’s annual sales tax holiday, meaning shoppers can save 6.25% on items up to $2,500. But not everything is eligible for the deal. 

Here’s what to know:

🙋 You can only get the tax break on personal purchases. If you were planning on shopping for your business or on behalf of a business, no discount for you. But personal purchases are a go.

💸 It only applies to items under $2,500. Meaning the most you could save on an eligible item is $156.25 (that’s 6.25% of $2,500). And if you buy an item over $2,500, you’ll have to pay the sales tax on the whole price, not just the difference. That said, you can apply that discount to as many items as you want, even if the total price amounts to over $2,500. 

🚫 And not everything qualifies. As Emily put it last year: Most items in any given mall outside of the food court are probably fair game for the discount. However, items like: Meals, motor vehicles, motorboats, telecommunications services, gas, steam, electricity, tobacco products, marijuana products, and alcohol are all no-gos.

👗 It’s a great time to splurge on fancy clothes. ICYMI: Clothing items under $175 are exempt from the sales tax 363 days of the year. But this weekend, if you buy an item that’s less than or equal to $2,500, you don’t have to pay sales tax. If the item is over $2,500 (Gucci jacket, anyone?), the first $175 is not subject to tax, but the rest is.

💻 Yes, you can get the break online. Thankfully, the discount also applies to online shopping (yes, including Amazon!), even if the items are delivered after the fact, so no trekking to Newbury Street is required. And don’t sweat it if you return an item after the weekend; the sales tax won’t be retroactively charged.

🤔 Still have questions? Find all the answers here. Happy shopping!

QUICK QUESTION

🤑 Do you usually take advantage of tax-free weekend?

TOGETHER WITH TOAST

Your foodie friends are counting on you

💬 🍔 Give them a recommendation you trust using Toast’s map of Greater Boston’s best bites. Whether it’s a casual pizza joint in the Fenway or a trendy sushi bar in Cambridge, each one of these restaurants is a winner that everyone (even the pickiest eaters) will enjoy. Download the Toast app today and be the hero of your group chat (or if you’re a restaurant owner, book a demo to get your place featured).

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

☔ Debby could be a downer this weekend. TL;DR: Expect lots of rain. Tropical Storm Debby has been pounding the Southeast this week with soaking rain and life-threatening flooding, and it appears she’s on track to pay New England a visit. While we probably won’t see her at her full force, she’ll still pack enough moisture to make flooding rains possible, especially in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Western Mass. Greater Boston’s flood risk currently remains low, but that could change if we get hit by repeated heavy storms. Things should start picking up tonight, so keep up with the latest here.

💔 Boston made the top of one of the worst lists. And it’s not the “rudest city” one. A new report found that Boston has the second-highest per capita homelessness rate out of the 45 largest cities in the country (801 homeless per 100,000 residents), just behind New York City. The driving factor? Surprise! High housing costs. It’s worth noting that, despite these numbers, only 6% percent of the region’s homeless population is unsheltered (the national average is 40%), which the report said is due to our robust shelter system and related support services.

🚲 Boston to new residents: Get your (p)ass in gear. No, really. The city just launched a cheeky “Get Your Pass In Gear” campaign to encourage residents to sign up for The Boston Bikes Pass to get a discounted Bluebikes membership. The rules are pretty simple: If you’re a resident who hasn’t had a Bluebikes membership in the last three years, you’re eligible for a $60 yearly membership (normally $133.50). Or, if you qualify for MassHealth, SNAP, or similar programs, the membership is $5 a year (the income-eligible rate is normally $50).

🍻‘Tis the season for summer pop-ups. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. Every Thursday in August, Tree House Brewing Company will be turning the Pru’s South Garden into a beer garden from 3 p.m. to dusk. Expect brews, non-alcoholic seltzers, and live music aplenty. Craving something sweeter? Day & Night cereal bar (which is famously B-Side Certified) is popping up at Bardo’s in South Boston this Saturday, bringing along their fan-fave bowls and shakes, and even offering a cereal pizza, which is all we needed to hear.

GIVEAWAY

Together with the Connecticut Sun

Enter to win 4 complimentary tickets to the Connecticut Sun vs. Los Angeles Sparks game at TD Garden on Aug. 20. To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on Aug. 9. If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

18+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here.

🚨📣 SPOILERS FOR THIS WEEK’S “THE BACHELORETTE” AHEAD, SCROLL AT YOUR OWN RISK! 📣🚨

ONE LAST THING

Will weiner boy stay or go?

It looks like Jenn Tran wasn’t as charmed by Matt Rossi as we thought. 

Quick catch up: After a slew of TikTok drama during Tran’s appearance on “The Bachelor” brought the pair’s past relationship to light, Rossi, a Boston weiner dog influencer (dubbed “weiner boy” by Tran), showed up on “The Bachelorette” hoping to join her season.

But this week, we learned that his pleas fell on deaf ears. After a conversation that addressed some very fair questions from Tran (like why Rossi showed up now instead of four years ago!), she eventually decided to ship him back to Boston. He awkwardly apologized to the other men for his intrusion. 

There go our dreams for a Boston bachelor. 

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🌹 Thanks for reading! In the end, Rossi might’ve lost the girl, but he did win about a month’s worth of TikTok clout. And isn’t that what it’s really all about?

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Toast, for supporting local journalism and making dining (or taking out) in Boston easy. 

🐱 The results are in: Unsurprisingly, B-Siders can’t wait for Boston’s new Cat Café either, and have overwhelmingly sent us there for the next B-Side certified with 44% of the vote. One reader said: “Does food taste better with a side of cat cuddles? Please report back😭”

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].