Five Things to Know Today, Feb. 20

Welcome to a new week and to Presidents Day. Here are some things to know today.

The weather: Nice for those with a day off on Presidents Day: Sunny, with a high of about 58, the National Weather Service says. The low tonight will be around 38 degrees.

Gas prices crept up while we weren't looking this weekend. The lowest price for a gallon of regular in Lilburn reported to www.georgiagasprices.com Sunday was 4 cents higher than Friday, at $3.45 (at Kroger, 4155 Lawrenceville Hwy at Beaver Ruin Road and at two other places). The highest price was $3.58 (at Texaco, 4785 Lawrenceville Hwy at Indian Trail Lilburn Road, and at Chevron, 4784 Hwy 29 at Killian Hill Road).

Presidents Who? What? It's Presidents Day. Quick: Who's being honored here? It started as a celebration of George Washington, born Feb. 22, then was expanded in different ways by different states and the federal government. The day variously also marks the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson or, in some southern states, all U.S. presidents. The current observance was fixed on the third Monday of February by a national holiday reform bill in 1971 that shifted federal holidays to Mondays from moving calendar dates.

Spring cleaning. February is ticking slowly away and it'll be time soon to clear things out for the new spring and summer. Just in time, the Gwinnett County parks department is hosting a mass yard sale on March 3 at Best Friends Park on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross. The sale will be inside the gym, so weather won't be a problem. County residents can reserve a space for $20; it's $25 for non-residents.

Votes. The right to vote seems basic to us all today, so basic that many people don't bother to cast a ballot in every election. But it was only extended to half the population in 1920, when the 19th Amendment granting women the same power as men to vote was adopted. In the first go-round among states, Georgia rejected the amendment. Georgia only ratified the amendment on this day in 1970.