Good morning, Springfield.

Local businesses are preparing for tax-free weekend starting Saturday morning and ending 11:59 p.m. Sunday, with Eddie’s Furniture and City Tire expecting busy days (increased inventory and staffing) to offer savings on furniture and tires.

Mass. skywatchers will see a partial solar eclipse on Aug.

12 and enjoy the Perseids meteor shower peak with up to 90 meteors per hour later that night (using eclipse glasses for safe viewing) in Springfield and beyond.

Springfield Museums and Mi Museo Committee will host the free Latino Arts Festival on Friday, Aug.

28 at Quadrangle Green and the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts. The festival features a 3:30 p.m. lecture by Smithsonian curator Ariana Curtis, live music, and art activities + exhibition tours.

Local educator Mary Cieplik advises families to prepare children for kindergarten by reinforcing learning at home and scheduling school tours (reducing first-day anxiety).

A local doctor will share tips on essential skills soon.

Mayor Domenic Sarno visited the STCC College for Kids Fashion 101 exhibit at Tower Square's JUS10 Fashion Studio on Thursday, Aug.

6. The display featured original garments by local students and four will shadow designer Justin Haynes at New York Fashion Week on Sept. 11 and 12.

Springfield Mayor Dom Sarno has opened cooling centers at five local locations to help residents beat the heat as temperatures near a 100-degree heat index.

Centers are open today with hours of 10:00 a.m. — 6:00 p.m., except Forest Park Library, which is open from 1:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal joined with the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and Preservation of Affordable Housing to celebrate high-speed internet now serving Dom Narodowy Polski Apartments in downtown Chicopee.

The upgrade, funded under the Residential Retrofit Program (supporting 33,000 homes statewide), will help 50 seniors connect for work and telehealth.

Springfield restaurant Juguitos Healthy Grab and Go changed its lettuce supplier after a lettuce-linked parasite outbreak sickened over 10,000 people nationwide.

Owner Pedro Arroyo said customers are now ordering sandwiches without lettuce and the restaurant will keep using produce from A. Simos in West Springfield.

Brittney Aponte, a local resident, was chosen Tuesday in a lottery to buy a three-bedroom home in Upper Hill under the City of Homes program funded by various grants, and at least a dozen more affordable homes will be available for first-time buyers before year’s end.

High school girls soccer teams across Western Mass are preparing for the fall season with a strong group of returning stars, including several from Springfield Central who earned honors last year.

Coaches expect the new season to build on past achievements + spark community pride.