Virginia's sales tax holiday is this weekend

• It's the earliest lawmakers were able to squeeze it in after forgetting to renew it earlier this year and then getting bogged down in an interminable standoff over the state budget.

Details: The event runs Friday through Sunday and exempts a range of purchases from the state's 5.3% sales tax.

• That includes purchases of school supplies, clothes, shoes, some Energy Star appliances, and emergency items like generators and chainsaws.

Flashback: The tax break holiday usually takes place on the first weekend in August and is intended to make necessary goods more affordable for Virginians ahead of the start of the school year and peak hurricane season.

• Both have long passed.