Just a reminder that the Greenwood Library will close again for about two weeks beginning Monday for the second phase of major remodeling work.

The library at 8016 Greenwood Ave. N. closed from Feb. 13 to April 16 for renovation, including new carpet, a laptop bar in the teen area, combined service desks, increased seating options, added electrical outlets to tables, upgrades to the meeting room and repositioned public computers to reduce glare.

During the new closure, the new custom exterior glass wall will be installed. The front windows/glass wall is being replaced because the large boulder that extended from the outside into the library was removed because of continuing moisture problems. That wall is currently covered with plywood.

The library’s garage also will be closed, but the exterior book drop will remain open. All holds were temporarily suspended as of June 17 and will automatically restart once the library reopens.

Licton Springs Tiny House Village at 8620 Aurora Ave. N. will have a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12 p.m. Friday for its new shower and laundry pavilion.

Volunteers build a ramp to the new shower and laundry pavilion. Photo courtesy of LIHI.

Opened in April and operated by The Low Income Housing Institute, the village is one of six sanctioned homeless encampments in Seattle, and the only low-barrier site. It has 30 tiny houses built by volunteers, and serves up to 70 homeless men and women. Residents are referred by police and outreach workers.

City Councilmember Debora Juarez and residents of the village will speak at the ceremony.

The village needs donations of bath towels, hygiene supplies and laundry detergent. Donations can be dropped off at the village’s security hut 24 hours a day.

Sponsored post by UW Medicine.

Despite our dreary climate, skin cancer in Washington is more common than you think

As Pacific Northwesterners, we know it rains all the time and sun is a rarity reserved for the summer months. But all those storm clouds don’t protect us from the possibility of skin cancer. Did you know Washington has more incidences of skin cancer than sunny states like California and Arizona?

Unfortunately, that increased risk includes melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer and the type likeliest to spread if it isn’t caught early. And melanoma is on the rise—not just in Washington, but throughout the country.

The good news? “We’re diagnosing people earlier,” said Dr. Michi Shinohara, a UW Medicine dermatologist who specializes in dermatologic oncology.

Melanomas can show up anywhere on your skin, even areas that aren’t commonly exposed to sun. They are often larger, asymmetrical, have uneven edges, or aren’t evenly pigmented.

“We call them ugly ducklings because they stand out,” Shinohara said. “If you have a mole or spot on your skin that looks different from the others, visit your doctor.”

People who are older or have a family history of skin cancer are at greater risk. UV therapy to treat skin conditions like psoriasis or skin lymphoma can also increase risk. If you’ve had skin cancer before, you’re more likely to get it again.

Melanoma is rarer, but serious. The most common forms of skin cancer—basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma—are generally slow growing and curable.

Skin cancer is “relatively easy to prevent,” Shinohara said. Her tips:

• Use sunscreen that’s SPF 30 or higher and broad spectrum, blocking both UVA and UVB rays. Ultimately, though, any sunscreen is better than none. “The best sunscreen is the one you use,” Shinohara said.
• Reapply sunscreen regularly, especially if you’re swimming or sweating.
• It takes about two tablespoons of sunscreen to sufficiently protect your entire body.
• Even better, wear dark-colored clothing that covers your skin and has a tighter weave. Don’t forget sunglasses!
• If you have very pale skin or burn easily, you’ll need to use more sunscreen and reapply more often.
• If your skin is darker, still wear sunscreen. More pigment in your skin does provide some sun protection, but no one is immune to skin cancer.
• Try to avoid exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun is most intense.
• Don’t pre-tan (or tan at all). It won’t protect your skin or lower your risk for skin cancer. Any kind of tanning permanently damages your skin.

Ultimately, the best course of action is to wear sunscreen whenever you spend time outside, even if it’s cloudy or cooler. Bring extra sunscreen with you if you’re traveling to a sunny place and store extra bottles in your car and at work.

“I’m not saying be vampires, but do be aware,” Shinohara said. “We can’t undo damage from sun.”

If you notice a new or changing spot on your skin, visit a UW Medicine primary care provider to get it checked out.

The Greenwood Knights Car Club is hosting the 25th annual Greenwood Car Show, with an estimated 800 classic cars stretching more than a mile and half down Greenwood Avenue, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend.

This sanctioned Seafair event is also a fundraiser for local charities, with organizers giving back profits from registration fees, and visitors encouraged to bring donations for the local food bank.

See everything from 1920s era classic cars to modern electric vehicles, vintage fire trucks and police cars, three vintage hydroplanes, and classics from the LeMay Family Collection.

Bring donations for local food banks and drop off at the FamilyWorks booth at North 87th Street, the Main Stage at North 79th Street, the Greenwood Knights booth at North 77th Street, or Ken’s Market at North 73rd Street.

There’s live music all day on the Main Stage on Greenwood Avenue North at North 79th Street: School of Rock at 10 a.m.; Guilty Smoke (roots rock) at 11 a.m.; Band of Brotherz (class blues and rock) at 12 p.m.; and Sir Real (eclectic rock) at 1 p.m.

KZOK will broadcast live from the 74th Street Ale House from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The awards ceremony with Lance Lambert, host of the “Vintage Vehicle Show,” begins at 3 p.m. on the Main Stage.

The popular Kids’ Zone is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Morrow Lane between North 85th and 87th streets, with games, prizes, crafts, ventriloquist Ken Lyon, and Byron Stander, the Anti-Bully Man, who will perform at 10:30 a.m., 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Cars start lining up by 6 a.m. and take a couple of hours to clear out after the show ends at 4 p.m., so traffic and parking in the area will obviously be a challenge. East-west traffic will continue at North 80th and 85th streets, with police officers directing traffic and pedestrians at those intersections. Metro Route 5 will be rerouted in both directions off Greenwood Avenue between North 67th and 90th streets. See Metro’s Service Advisories page for reroute information.

The Greenwood Senior Center, 525 N. 85th St., hosts its annual Pancake Breakfast from 7-11 a.m. with all your breakfast favorites, for $5 a person or $15 for the whole family. All proceeds support the senior center’s services.

Naked City Brewery hosts the 8th annual Beer Can Derby & Root Beer Can Derby at 12 p.m. in the Walrus Beer Garden at 8564 Greenwood Ave. N. The 40-foot-long derby track has four lanes. Entry fee is five non-perishable food items (spectators are encouraged to bring donations as well). The Beer Can Derby is for adults 21 and over, and vehicle designs must include one beer can. The Root Beer Can Derby is open to all ages, and participants must include one soda can in their design.

Windermere Realty is hosting a beer garden from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in its parking lot at 311 N. 85th St., with all proceeds going to the Windermere Foundation, which supports low-income and homeless families.

See the car show website for a schedule of all events and pictures of past events.

Update Wednesday: Today’s exam shows the calf is a girl, who stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 149 pounds. You can see pictures and video of the giraffe on the zoo’s blog.

Earlier: Early this morning, Woodland Park Zoo’s 8-year-old giraffe, Tufani, gave birth. The calf’s gender has not yet been determined. It will be examined for the first time tomorrow to identify gender, height and weight.

Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Woodland Park Zoo.

Mom and baby are currently off view in the barn to allow for nursing and bonding. After 72 hours, staff will turn on the giraffe cam. The calf is expected to start following its mom to the outside enclosure within a week or two.

The calf will be named later this summer.

The Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission today approved a settlement agreement that imposes the highest penalty ever on Puget Sound Energy for the 2016 Greenwood gas explosion that leveled three businesses and damaged another 50.

The main penalty is $1.5 million, with another $1.25 million in penalties if PSE doesn’t complete a comprehensive gas pipeline inspection and remediation program by agreed upon deadlines.

In September, the UTC found PSE at fault for the explosion, saying the utility’s contractor had improperly deactivated that gas line, which was then damaged by people who used the tiny space between two buildings to store their belongings and subsequently damaged the pipe. Nine firefighters were injured in the explosion.

According to today’s settlement agreement:

The complaint alleged five violations related to improper deactivation of a pipeline and failure to perform periodic gas leak surveys and corrosion tests as required by pipeline safety regulations. PSE did not contest the five violations.

The compliance program requires PSE to identify, inspect, and remediate more than 40,000 retired service lines, categorized as follows:

• Group 1: Within 18 months, complete initial inspections on all 3,060 service lines retired by PSE’s contractor between 2000-2010 located in business districts.
• Group 2: Within 24 months, complete initial inspections on a sample of 6,578 service lines for the 10,907 locations retired by PSE’s contractor between 2000-2010 that serve high occupancy structures, prioritizing schools, public buildings, and hospitals.
• Group 3: Within 36 months complete initial inspections on a sample of 3,263 service lines for the 15,131 locations retired prior to 2000 that may have served high occupancy structures, prioritizing schools, public buildings, and hospitals.
• Group 4: Within 36 months complete initial inspections on a sample of 3,069 service lines for the 11,691 locations retired after 2010 that may have served high occupancy structures, prioritizing schools, public buildings, and hospitals.

If the company discovers an active gas line in the sample from Groups 2-4, PSE must inspect all locations within that group and file an amended compliance plan with the commission.

PSE also agrees to evaluate active, above-ground service pipes as part of their regular inspection process with an enhanced focus on pipes susceptible to external damage, including tampering or vandalism.

The settlement also requires PSE to review its standards and practices related to deactivating service lines and implement employee training on any changes.

The Phinney Neighborhood Community Chorus’s annual concert to benefit a school in Haiti raised far more money this year than previously.

Chorus member Mike Veitenhans tells me the chorus had hoped to raise $8,000. But shortly before Saturday night’s concert, a representative from the Mona Foundation, which funds the Georges Marcellus School in rural Haiti through donations, told the chorus that an anonymous donor had heard about the chorus’s fundraising efforts and promised to match whatever they raised, up to $10,000.

After informing the audience of that pledge match, audience members reached deep and donated $11,550. A few more donations rolled in after the concert, and with the anonymous donor match, the chorus raised a record $21,550.

The chorus has now raised more than $90,000 for Haitian school children in the last 15 years.

BECU will open a Neighborhood Financial Center at 101 NW 85th St., in the new Janus Apartments building across the street from Fred Meyer.

The credit union financial center will be more than 3,200 square feet. It is expected to open late this year.

As with BECU’s other Neighborhood Financial Centers, the new Greenwood location will rely on an innovative “tellerless” layout, which empowers members to access their accounts in ways most convenient for them, including ATM, online banking and mobile banking. Member consultants will be available at the new location to provide one-on-one support for opening accounts and more complex services, such as mortgages, personal loans, auto loans, business services, investments and retirement planning. The new financial center will also feature two ATMs with 24-hour access.

Here are some highlights of what’s happening in and around Phinney Ridge and Greenwood this weekend. Check our Events calendar for more.

“Busman’s Honeymoon” continues at Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St. through June 24.

Upcycled Fairy Garden Workshop for families from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at Seattle ReCreative, 8408 Greenwood Ave. N.

The Norse Home’s 60th anniversary celebration is from 2-8 p.m. Saturday at 5311 Phinney Ave. N., with Seattle band Skandia Kapell, the Norwegian Ladies Chorus, the Norwegian Male Chorus, cake, an art show, history presentation, photo booth and more.

Miscast: A Cabaret at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at The Pocket Theater, 8312 Greenwood Ave. N.

Phinney Neighborhood Community Chorus benefit for a Haiti school is at 7 p.m. Saturday at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, 7500 Greenwood Ave. N. Admission is free but all donations go to the Georges Marcellus School through the Mona Foundation.

Northwest Firelight Chorale will perform “Africa: A Legacy of Song” at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church, 225 N. 70th St. Tickets online are $22 for adults, $12 for ages 12 and under, children 4 and under are free.

Couth Buzzard Books, 8310 Greenwood Ave. N., presents Classical Guitar Cabaret with Robert Vierschilling, Ken Alia, Greg Miller and Jon Yerby at 7:30 p.m. Friday; and Little Sara and the Night Owls at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Looking ahead to Monday, Lagunitas Brewing Company, at 1550 NW 49th St. in Ballard, is hosting a Jazz in the Beer Garden fundraiser for Greenwood’s Music Center of the Northwest starting at 5:30 p.m.

Traffic-wise this weekend:

• Vans Warped Tour at CenturyLink Field North Lot from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.
• Seattle Colleges Commencement at Safeco Field at 6 p.m. Friday.
• Rock n’ Roll Expo at CenturyLink Field Events Center, from 12-7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
• Fremont Solstice Fair, Celebration and Parade are this weekend. Parade starts at 1 p.m. Saturday at NW Leary Way and NW 36th Street, and travels east on NW 36th Street, south of Fremont Avenue North, east on North 34th Street and North Northlake Way to Gasworks Park. Then the Fremont Solstice Celebration happens at Gasworks from 1:30-9:30 p.m. The Fremont Fair takes place on North 34th and North 35th streets between 1st Avenue NW and Fremont Avenue North from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
• City University Commencement at KeyArena at 1 p.m. Saturday.
• Rock n’ Roll Half and Full Marathon starting near Husky Stadium at 6:30 a.m. Sunday and ending at CenturyLink Field.