THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, August 8, 2025 Page 13 Malden Public Library’s End of Summer Party I t’s hard to believe that the End of Summer Reading is already here! Friday, August 15 at 11 a.m., come join us for cake, music, games and more on the front lawn! No registration is required, and you do not have to have participated in summer reading to attend. BUT if you’ve been reading all summer and not registered for our summer reading challenges, it’s not too late! Sign up on our Beanstack site — bit.ly/BeanstackMPL — or via the Beanstack tracker app on your phone, and you can backlog your previous weeks’ reading minutes (honest estimates are okay)! Once you’ve reported your reading for each week, you can earn a fabulous prize. And even if you haven’t read, come celebrate with us. The second best part of libraries, after the books, is sharing space with our community. So come celebrate with us and enjoy some cake and fabulous people. I BBB Tip: How to take advantage of tax-free shopping days The 2025 Massachusetts sales tax holiday, also known as the tax-free weekend, is scheduled for Saturday, August 9, and Sunday, August 10. f you’re gearing up for back-toschool shopping, you might be able to take advantage of taxfree weekends to save on essential supplies. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has tips to help you make the most of these tax holidays. What you’ll learn: • How to find out if your state offers tax-free weekends or holidays • How to make the most of these tax-free shopping days Many states offer tax-free weekends or tax holidays to encourage spending and give shoppers a price break on musthave supplies. Tax-exempt items might include back-to-school items, disaster preparedness supplies, or other consumer goods. Each state has its own list of qualifying items, usually up to a maximum price. With some planning, you can take advantage of your state’s tax holidays for serious savings. How to make the most of a sales tax holiday • Find out when your state holds tax-free sales. Visit the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) website for an up-todate list of when each state is having its tax holidays. Usually, ELECTION | FROM PAGE 1 two contested municipal races. Voters in Ward 4 and Ward 6 will select from the following candidates vying for a place on the November ballot: School Committee — Ward 4 Dawn Macklin (Incumbent) Abeer A. Annab Jeffrey Allen Donahue Katzia Marie Small City Councillor — Ward 6 Stephen Patrick Winslow (incumbent) Jerry Leone William E. Muise On September 16, polling stations will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for Preliminary Election day. All registered voters in Ward 4 and Ward 6 are encouraged to participate in shaping the future leadership of their community. This preliminary round will determine which candidates will move forward to the General Municipal Election on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. The deadline to register for the Preliminary Election is at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 6, 2025. Early voting for the Preliminary will be held at the City Clerk’s Office located at 215 Pleasant Street, Room 220: Tuesday, September 2 8 : 0 0 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 3 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Thursday, September 4 8 : 0 0 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday, September 8 8 : 0 0 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 9 8 : 0 0 these sales occur just before the school year begins, but some holidays happen earlier or later in the year. • Research what items will be tax-exempt. Tax holidays aren’t just for parents of school-age children. Besides school supplies and electronics, some states offer tax exemptions on tools, Energy Star products, generators, emergency preparedness items and even gun safes and hunting supplies. Check the FTA’s website early in the year to see if your state will be waiving taxes on any items you need, particularly high-dollar items like appliances or electronics. • Know the cost limits. States usually cap how much an item can cost to be tax-exempt. For example, some states allow for computer tax exemptions that cost up to $1,000. Check your state’s rules to determine the limits where you live. • Don’t be confused by advertising. Just because a store advertises a “Back-to-School Sale” doesn’t mean the items are taxfree. Double-check your state’s dates and tax-free list to be sure. • Set your budget before you go shopping. It can be easy to go over budget when you feel you are getting a great deal on an item. Set your budget before a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 10 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Thursday, September 11 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. *** Councillor-at-Large race draws six candidates Another race that has drawn a large number of candidates is for Malden Councillor-at-Large — six in all. There will be no Preliminary Election, since seven candidates are needed in that case. you head to the store. • Start with the most expensive items first. Make bigger purchases first to ensure you get the most benefit from tax-free sales. There is often high demand for tax-free items during tax holidays. If you need a new computer and school notebooks, start with the computer and snag it tax-free before it’s out of stock. • Do some deal-stacking. Deal-stacking means using several money-saving methods at once to maximize your savings. Look for coupons and cash-back offers you can use during taxfree holidays to save the most. • Find out if you can shop taxfree online. Many states offer tax exemptions on online purchases, too. Some popular retailers, such as Amazon, automatically take sales tax off any eligible purchase you make. Check your state’s rules to see if you can shop online during tax holidays. For more information For related advice, see the BBB website (bbb.org) for “BBB Tip: Get ready to go back to school” and “BBB tax tips and resources.” In addition, read BBB tips for smart online shopping and learn more about BBB Accreditation Standards and BBB Standards for Trust. All six candidates will appear on the November ballot. Seeking one of the three seats in the November General Election are incumbents Craig Spadafora, seeking a 12th term, Karen Colón Hayes and Carey McDonald, both seeking third terms, and challengers Mohammad Abu-Taha, Solomon Davidoff and Michelle Luong. A story in last week’s Advocate refers to Davidoff as a Ward 4 resident. However, being a resident of 194 Clifton St., he resides in Ward 3. For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 orInfo@advocatenews.net
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