Just across the Henrico County line off of Lakeside Avenue is one of Richmond’s hidden parks — the Spring Park Historic Site on Park Street (behind the Bank of America on Lakeside). On August 10, Henrico Parks and Recreation will Rock the Block at Spring Park from 6:00 until 8:00 pm:

Come out and join your community for free family entertainment in your neighborhood park. Enjoy live music, contests and games, and more! Concessions will be available for purchase. For more information, call 501-5134.

Some details on Spring Park’s history from Discover Richmond:

Spring Park was the gathering place for Gabriel Prosser, a literate 24-year-old blacksmith, and his fellow slaves one night in 1800. They had rebellion on their mind, and a plan that might have worked. But instead of success, they were greeted by a massive thunderstorm that washed out roads and bridges. Gabriel’s rain date was the next night, but in the interim, two slaves had second thoughts and informed their owner, who informed the governor, James Monroe. Monroe, who was a kidnap target of Gabriel and his conspirators, called out the militia and the rebellion was thwarted before it even began. Gabriel and 25 others were hanged. In 1997, Henrico County dedicated Spring Park in his honor near the mineral spring where the slaves plotted their rebellion.

Style Magazine got out of the gate rather fast with their review of Kitchen 64, one of North Richmond’s newest dining additions.

For a broader range of perspectives on Kitchen 64, check out our handy list of weblog reviews — and all of the comments our readers added to the mix!

As neighborhoods across the country throw block parties and turn on the porch lights on August 7 in a national initiative to make the community connection to public safety, the merchants on MacArthur Avenue have their own plans for National Night Out:

Tuesday, August 7th is National Night Out and the MacArthur Merchants will be hosting an evening of fun events for you and your family!!

The event will be held from 7:30 to around 11:00 pm. with bands outside of Decatur\’s garage, ice cream and kid events in front of The Grotto, as well as outdoor movies in front of Once Upon a Vine and a Cajun Creole Dance demo.

Thanks to the stellar efforts of Richmond Magazine’s favorite community blogger, John Murden of Church Hill People’s News, North Richmond News now has a poll feature. Our first poll comes on the heels of some very passionate response to our posts on North Side’s latest restaurant additions. Check it out — on the upper left of your page.

North Richmond News is a community, or micro, weblog focused on keeping residents of some North Richmond neighborhoods more connected to the news, information and community resources that fall close to home. During our inaugural launch, we intend to focus primarily on the area stretching from the Diamond to Lewis Ginter and from BoulevardHermitage/Lakeside corridor to Chamberlayne Avenue — roughly the neighborhoods of Rosedale, Ginter Park

North Side’s favorite food critic-on-the-street, Deveron Timberlake, updates the world on changes at Lakeside’s Zed Cafe.

Zed Café is poised for a new level of success now that Executive Chef Bill Foster is running the kitchen. The Culinary Institute of America-trained chef worked with Jimmy Sneed and Dale Reitzer for nine years and did a stint at the Executive Mansion and A Sharper Palate before moving to the North Side kitchens of Zed a few weeks ago.

“I’ve tried to work at the best places I could,” Foster says in his South Carolina twang, “and I trained well at Acacia. Dale is a mentor in the business and philosophy of restaurants.”

Foster is offering personalized tasting menus for guests, all local produce and specialty ingredients, and the occasional wine dinner, including one with Ellwood Thompson’s Aug. 14.

“Our motto here is clean food,” he says. “It’s not crunchy granola, it’s working with the best products — no hormones, no antibiotics, no pesticides — and I’m dealing directly with farmers. That’s very exciting. I’m being spoiled — this is what I’ve always envisioned.”

The café serves lunch and dinner Wednesday through Saturday, and Sunday brunch. 5109 Lakeside Ave. 261-5656.

Kitchen 64 gets a second print review in a week several months into its run as one of North Side’s most popular restaurants, as the Times-Dispatch’s Weekend food critic cheers its arrival on the dining scene:

After a few visits, I’ve determined Kitchen 64 is not perfect, is never going to be perfect but couldn’t be more perfect for the neighborhood. The food is down to earth, the vibe electrifying, and, for many, it represents the dawn of a new North Side.

Each of my visits has brought newfound loves and “never order agains,” but the menu is so extensive — from a pastramiand kraut-topped dog to filet mignon — that it’s hard not to find a favorite.

We gave Kitchen 64 a trial run one sunny Tuesday around 8 p.m. The wait was half an hour, so we wedged in at the bar and scanned the short wine list ($6 to $7 a glass, $23 to $44 a bottle) before scoring a coveted patio table.

Appetizers range from everyday to eclectic, including our shrimp and Gorgonzola in phyllo ($8.95). It wasn’t easily shareable, but it was darn good.

A pan lined with flaky phyllo was filled with a gooey hodgepodge of melted Gorgonzola, garlic cream sauce, cherry tomatoes and jumbo shrimp. Think swanky chicken pot pie in reverse.

We returned at 7 p.m. the following Friday with friends, surprised to snag a booth quickly. Soon, the place was slammed.

Almost any time of day, Kitchen 64’s interior is abuzz with life. Pale wood and neon lights brighten the high-ceilinged space as a kinetic mix of conversation and commotion drowns out above-bar flat screens.

The City of Richmond has engaged in a six-week sewer assault in an effort to keep West Nile Virus at bay:

Beginning the week of Aug. 6, the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities will launch a citywide effort to reduce and eliminate the existence of mosquitoes with West Nile Virus infection. In response to recent positive findings in various parts of the City, DPU will be treating the entire City on an aggressive six-week schedule.

During this process, DPU contractor, US Pest Control, will treat each storm sewer within the City of Richmond with three control materials designed to kill mosquitoes at each level of development from larvae to adult stages. These materials have been determined non-toxic, safe for humans and pets and have been approved for use in storm sewers by the VA Department of Health. In addition, DPU employees will treat catch basins located within the City right-of-way using a microbial product to be provided by US Pest Control.

According to state regulatory policies, larviciding must be performed by persons who possess a state applicators license. DPU has contracted US Pest Control, a company certified by the Office of Pesticide Management, VA Department of Agriculture. US Pest Control has a record of success, having performed this service for the City of Richmond in 2002 with excellent results – not a single call back for an area to be re-treated.

For more information, call DPU’s Customer Care Center at 644-3000 or visit DPU’s Web site at www.richmondgov.com/dpu.

The city’s Department of Community Development has announced another public meeting to discuss the update to the Downtown Master Plan. The meeting will be held the evening of Thursday, September 27, with specific time and place to be announced.

Keep up with the city’s efforts to develop a new Downtown Plan at Buttermilk & Molasses’ Richmond Planning and Development page, or at the less-frequently updated city webpage.

Another month, another edition of North of the James hits the doorstop. The monthly news magazine doesn’t have a website, but it is delivered to many homes in North Richmond and can be found at retailers throughout Ginter Park, Bellevue and Lakeside.

Of interest to our neighbors in the August issue of North of the James:

The Richmond Times-Dispatch covers two birds with one stone today — the short-term lease agreement recently reached with the Richmond Braves and the longer-term plans for the city-owned land along the Boulevard and Hermitage:

Richmond’s search for a developer for the Boulevard has put any decision on a new ballpark on hold — even though the Braves offered more money for a deal.

But despite the team’s impatience, local government and business officials say they’re relieved by a lease extension this week for The Diamond that they hope gives everyone some breathing room.

Richmond plans to hire a consultant next month to run a nationwide search for developers to transform the park and surrounding area along the Boulevard, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Harry E. Black said yesterday.

The city hopes a developer will be in place by January, with plans on what to build and how to pay for it, Black said. That, however, would be an aggressive timeline, he added.

“It wouldn’t really make sense,” he said, for the Braves to go ahead separately with plans for a new facility until a Boulevard developer is in place.

“I feel good that we’re approaching it the right way.”

Black said he’s encouraged that the parent club, the Atlanta Braves, agreed this week to extend the current lease at The Diamond for up to three years. The agreement gives the Braves an option to cancel by Oct. 1 each year.

Two local weblogs, Urban Richmond and Buttermilk & Molasses, have come out with strong views on news that the city will be hiring a consultant and developer to determine the best use for the city-owned land along the Boulevard and Hermitage corridors. [Disclosure: One of the North Richmond News editors is an editor for Buttermilk & Molasses.]

Diane Walker at WWBT (aka NBC-12) recently spotlighted the plight of a 59-year-old homeless woman who has “been part of the urban landscape at Azalea Avenue and Brook Road for months.”

We visited the GRTC bus stop and, just like the caller said, found the woman, who has been part of the urban landscape at Azalea Avenue and Brook Road for months.

We found her sick, her clothes soiled, and needing medical care. The man who called us drove away assured that we would help — beyond the monetary love offerings he and others stuff in the woman’s hand.

Her possessions blocked the bus stop, so her boxes got hauled away last week. But the city left the woman, who tells me she’s 59. Her name is Nancy.

I called Adult Protective Services for help, given her wandering nature and physical condition.

An ambulance arrived soon after. Nancy will be taken to a facility for evaluation. She welcomed the help.

Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities is in the midst of a master planning process, and a press release recently went out from the city asking for feedback:

About 3,000 households in the city are receiving a survey from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities as part of the master plan process. The department is making a detailed assessment of the city’s parks and the department’s programs, facilities and financial systems.

The survey takes only a few minutes to complete and is essential to the planning process. Once completed, the information gathered will be incorporated into a draft master plan and presented to the public in the fall for further comment.

For more information, contact Christy Everson, 646-5944.

John Baliles at River City Rapids has more on the city’s plans.

If you went to VCU in the late 1980s or early 1990s, you might remember Mrru N. DePillars, the nattily dressed, pipe-smoking dean of the School of the Arts. He’ll be showcasing some of his art this fall at North Richmond’s Pine Camp Arts and Community Center:

The Spotlight Gallery at Pine Camp hosts a one-man exhibit by Murry N. DePillars at Pine Camp Arts and Community Center, 4901 Old Brook Road, Sept. 14-Nov. 9. DePillars was the dean of the School of Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University and is a member of the AfriCobra group of African-American artists.

The exhibit, “Celebrating Murry DePillars” brings together pieces from his Queen Candace, Briefcase and Freedom series. The opening reception is Friday, Sept. 14, 7-9 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

If you live in the 23222 (Ginter Park, Highland Park), 23223 (East Highland Park) or 23227 (Ginter Park, Rosedale, Bellevue, Chamberlayne) zip codes, it’s time to dump your bulk trash next to your Supercan. The pick-up date for these zip codes is Monday, August 27.

Items like furniture or large quantities of yard waste should be placed beside the Supercan, out of the roadway. Such items will be collected by the City on a four-week, rotating schedule based on zip code. You must call 646-0999 and schedule a pick-up during your assigned week. The item needs to be put out at the start of the week and may not be picked up until the end of the week since there is no precise day when the collection truck is due to service any given block. To view a map of collection zones, visit www.richmondgov.com/department/public_works/resident/refuse/bulk.asp

Keep your eye open for “No Parking” signs. The city is preparing the clean the streets:
Fulton Hill, Church Hill from Darbytown Road to 29th St., between I-64 and Franklin St. – Aug. 27-31.

Church Hill from 28th St. to 17th St. between I-64 and Franklin – Sept. 4-7.

Bellevue, Sherwood Park, Washington Park from Westbrook Ave. to Overbrook Road between Chamberlayne and I-95 – Sept. 10-14.

Lower West End from Belvidere to I-195 between Cary and the James River – Sept. 24-28.

Far West End from Hamilton St. to Three Chopt Road between Broad and Cary, including Windsor Farms, Virginia Place, Seneca and Dillwyn – Oct. 1-5.

Bainbridge, Bellmeade, Davee Gardens from Semmes Ave. to Bells Road between Hopkins and Riverside Drive – Oct. 8-12.

Woodland Heights, Swansboro, Westover Hills from Cowardin Ave. to Dorchester Road between Hopkins and Riverside – Oct. 15-19.

Neighborhood subdivisions south of the James River – Oct. 22-26.

The Richmond police department recently put out a survey to better focus their efforts. Unfortunately for the 21st century, it is a paper survey. Jon Baliles at River City Rapids wrote about it and posted a PDF link to the paper version. Ross Catrow at Pharrout and West of the Boulevard went a step further and created an actual online version of the survey.

Take a moment to take a bite out of crime in Richmond by completing the simple SurveyMonkey survey — data will be compiled anonymously and delivered to the Richmond police department.

In Vino Veritas, one of Richmond’s better food weblogs, has kind words for one of North Richmond’s restaurants:

shenanigans is a wonderful place to hear some great music. recently, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing some really good country (and i mean good country) bands - Brad Spivey and the Honky Tonk Experience, James Hand, and Dale Watson (we enjoyed his first show so much, we went back the same day for the late show). this is a true neighborhood bar. joan and her staff are wonderful and very accommodating. i’ve mentioned bonkers (yes, her name is bonkers) before. if there was a vote for best waitress in richmond, she’d have mine. even the regulars here are as nice as can be. if you have the fortune of sitting near larry, he might even buy you a drink. so…if you are looking for live music, a friendly atmosphere, and great people…a visit to the northside is a great choice.