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Bring on the stars and stripes! Monday is President's Day. Also known as Washington's Birthday--the third Monday in February is designated a federal holiday. Originally falling on February twenty second, Washington's actual birthday, this changed with the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved a number of federal holidays to Mondays. Many schools close for the whole week to honor all forty-four American Presidents. Be sure to check out Vince Gallagher’s Presidents Day Trivia story, where you'll get a chance to find out which President never belonged to a political party or voted.

This week also marks the start of Lent. Fat Tuesday, also known by many partygoers as Mardi Gras, is the last night of fun and fatty foods before the Christian observance of Ash Wednesday. That's the first official day of Lent, which runs through Easter Sunday. Many Christian religions take this time to give something up, whether its chocolate, alcohol, or Facebook, as a penance.

Will even more of Albany become smoke free? That's what the Common Council decides Thursday. The Council's Law Commission approved an ordinance to ban smoking at city sports fields, pools, and playgrounds. Now the full council will take a vote on the measure. New York State first entered the smoke free zone in 1988, when smoking was banned in public restrooms. In 2002, that ban extended to bars and restaurants. Almost eighty percent of the country’s population is covered by anti-smoking laws.

Presidents’ week is a busy time on the ski slopes. Our weather center says it doesn’t look like much in the way of new snow, following a chilly holiday, the rest of the week will feel a bit more like March than late February. But that should mean fairly comfortable temperatures on all that machine made snow. And it's not going to be feeling too bad in town for Tuesday's Mardi Gras festivities. Keep it to weather on the 9's for more.

And if you’re a Tonight Show Fan, you'll see a familiar YNN face there on Thursday. Lights Camera Jackson will be breaking down his Oscar thoughts for Jay Leno. That's it for your Look Ahead, have a great week.