Vol 1, Issue 3, Monday, March 30, 2026
A Recommended Excursion:
photo by Diane Riggs
Acting on a hot tip from Diane Riggs, the Buzz discovered that the Bellara Garden Club and Management have been busy installing new plants in the courtyard. The distance to this week’s recommended excursion is but a few steps!
The Buzz sends a shout out to Bellara Garden Club members Kathleen Grant, Cheri Gray, and Peggy Cooper. (If we missed any names, please contact the Buzz immediately.) And another shout out to Cynthia and Glenn Reifschneider who are lending Residents the figurines hiding in the Garden.
An additional note: the Garden Club is meeting Thursday, April 2 at 1:30 in the courtyard or Activity Room, depending on the weather.
Battery Recycling:
Facility Director Art Blancas announced last week that he will “be ordering a Veolia 3.5-gallon dry cell battery recycling pail to be placed … at the front desk concierge area to ensure easy access. Residents will be able to drop off their used batteries in this designated container.”
New Publishing Schedule
Dear Reader,
With regret, The Bellara Buzz is moving to a monthly publishing schedule. Currently, we are not receiving enough input -- new thoughts, tips, gripes, kudos, excursion recommendations, photos of family visits, restaurant recommendations, dentist recommendations, or anything else -- to publish on a weekly basis. If things change and our readers send us items, we can then move back to publishing more frequently.
photo by Diane Riggs
photo by the Buzz
April Shopping and Excursion Schedules
The Front Desk has informed The Buzz that one should sign-up as soon as possible as bus space is limited to 7 seats plus 2 wheelchair slots. And on the day of the event, to show up in the lobby 15 minutes ahead of departure time. As for returns, for most events the bus picks up an hour after drop off, but in some cases, such as restaurants or museums, etc., the duration will be longer. The bus driver will tell Residents the return time before dropping them off.
Activities
Art Gallery:
Crossing Lakeshore #2, by Rick Wise
Eric Carves, by Rick Wise
Across the Street #4, by Rick Wise
Bruce Alden de Garmeaux, 12/22/1935 to 11/19/2025
Cesarina (“Rina”) Melani, February 21, 1940 to September 22, 2025
Sandy Creque, January 26, 1936 to January 10, 2026
Ken Heckart, September 16, 1942 to March 6, 2026
Doris Edelman
Jerry Hightower
In Memoriam:
Mary Grodin. September 5, 1943 to January 24, 2026
by Karen Wandvik
Mary was one of the first Bellara residents, moving in late December 2024. I met her at the February 2025 Chinese New Year Brunch. In a red and black, Chinese-inspired blazer, she was dressed impeccably – as she always was whether on the way to a fancy restaurant or just relaxing in leisure wear. In conversations with her, I found out that she had a black belt in Karate and during her practice of martial arts had broken not only wood, but also a cement block with her bare hands!
She and her husband, Steve, had 2 sons, Howard and David, and were active members of a Corvette club for over 30 years; Mary was the treasurer of the Corvette club.
In 1986, Mary founded Grodin Financial Services in San Leandro. She also taught financial planning classes at the College of Alameda and Mills College and wrote a bi-weekly column for The San Leandro Times called “Ask Mary”, answering readers’ questions on financial topics. Her younger son, David, made his mother very happy and ensured Mary’s business legacy would live on by joining Grodin Financial Services.
Mary was quick to laugh, liked to drink Prosecco, and enjoyed baking. After the Mandelbread cooled down, she would appear in the dining room wearing an apron and rolling around the room with the bowl of cookies on her walker, using tongs to dole out a package of delicious Mandelbread to everyone who wanted some.
Let’s raise a glass of Prosecco to a smart, kind, and generous lady.
Help Wanted:
[Your request for help from Residents for some project of yours]
WANTED: Someone to write profiles of staff members for the Buzz. Possibly one a week or more spaced out, depending on your time….. These profiles would be a way for Residents to get to know more about all these people who help us in so many ways. Please email: rickwise35@gmail.com.
WANTED: Resident volunteer to serve as Treasurer for the Residents’ Association. The Treasurer is a vital member of the Association’s Executive Committee and is responsible for overseeing our financial operations & maintaining accurate records to support the Association.
What You’ll Do:
Work with Association President to: a) Determine & submit to proper government agency what is required to obtain an EIN for the Association, and b) Ensure compliance with local and federal non-profit tax regulations.
Establish & manage Association’s checking account, including depositing revenue, paying approved bills, & reconciling Association records monthly.
Let residents know how we are doing at Association meetings.
Who You Are:
Organized, reliable, trustworthy, & detail-oriented
Comfortable using a computer
Previous experience with basic bookkeeping and/or accounting & Excel or basic accounting software is a plus but not required.
Interested? Please email Association Vice President, Peggy Cooper, no later than April 1 st (no foolin’) describing your experience & qualifications. Send to: Peggy@coopers.org
Classifieds:
FREE: Val Bivins writes: I have a used, but in very good condition paper shredder that I would like to give to someone who is interested. Email: valbo9@att.net
Contact Us
You can email the Editor, Rick Wise, at: rickwise35@gmail.com Or you can use this form. Either way, send us your comments, suggestions, tips, excursion ideas, and so on. See “Submission Guidelines” — a direct link is at the top of this page.