The Five and Dive Tour : Summer Zen

It’s a fact that Arizona Summers are sizzling hot and, as a rule, most sane people will spend the next six months in a mall or on their couch in air-conditioned comfort in front of their Big Screen.

Not Bikers. Bikers are always breaking the rules.

Few things in life will keep one from riding. They’re like those mail carriers who brag:

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds”

Bikers? They have a different motto.

“Whatever it is, it’s better in the wind.”

So, this summer, long after the last of the winter visitors have left for cooler climes, and even lizards have disappeared under their rocks to get away from the heat, we’ve designed a Summer Road Tour for The Children of the Wind. … Continue Reading

The Wildflowers of Gila County

The wildflowers are in full bloom along the road from Phoenix to Globe and large fields of poppies can be seen on the drive from Globe to Safford. So if you’re planning a trip out this way, remember to bring your camera and give yourself enough time to stop along the way and get some shots.

If you want to know more about these desert beauties, you can always make a stop at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, just outside of Superior where there are plants from all the Deserts of the world, and the staff is both knowledgeable and amenable in answering your questions.

This weekend at Boyce Thompson there is the Herb Festival and a Guided Walk with Jean Groen and Don Wells who will share their knowledge about desert plants…

April 10 Herb Festival
April 10, Saturday, from 11:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m.
Spring’s the season to celebrate herbs — join us April 10 for a chance to learn about the culinary and medicinal uses of herbs, tour our own Wing Memorial Herb Garden, enjoy live music beneath the trees and near the fragrant rosemary and savory plants — and check out a variety of herbal products available from the Arizona Herb Association and other vendors invited to attend our event.

Edible and Medicinal Desert Plants Guided Walk April 10
April 10 at 1:30 p.m., then again April 25
Apache Junction authors Jean Groen and Don Wells are special guest tour guides April 10, Saturday, sharing their knowledge about desert plants which have fed, healed and clothed Sonoran desert peoples for more than a thousand years. Don’t hurry to leave when the tour ends — Jean usually shares homemade desert edible snacks back in the visitor center after the walk. Ethno-botanist and Choctaw Tribal Nation member Dave Morris leads this walk on April 25. ** Please note: this tour explores the Curandero Trail, which has steep sections that are not suitable for visitors who use wheelchairs or walkers.
Read more about jojoba, creosote and prickly pears

Superior Court fines Wilt $18,500

Another of Wilt's properties in Superior

Thursday afternoon, Dr. Glen Wilt again faced Judge Bravo in the Superior Court for sentencing on 8 counts and 11 citations involving his properties in Superior. He was found guilty in absentia two weeks ago when he failed to show up for his court date where the citations were reviewed.  His failure to appear for his own court date was due to a simple mistake he explained in today’s courtroom. He had thought the court date was for 5 pm… not 2 pm. Then, he added, when he started to leave (for Superior) he got sick and “couldn’t have made it anyway.”

As a college professor, one wonders what Wilt’s response would have been were a student to miss his midterm exam with the same ‘I -didn’t-know-what-time-the-test-started-and-then-I-got-sick-and-couldn’t-have-made-it-anyway’ excuse.

As the sentencing got underway, the Town’s case centered on the fact that the citations not only involved commercial buildings which according to Melanie Oliver, Superior’s Planning and Zoning administrator, are held to a higher standard and that of the 8 cases involved, six of them had been before the court for previous violations. … Continue Reading

Dr. Glen Wilt Found Negligent

Wilt was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read, but I caught up with him as he exited Hill Street Mall in Globe. Another of his properties, the Hill Street School can be seen in the background.

Dr. Glen Wilt, ASU professor of economics and real estate investor, was found negligent of his duties as a landlord in the tragic fire which destroyed the Pioneer Hotel and adjacent Globe Theater in the summer of 2005. The jury trial, which was held in Gila County Court took 6 days to present all the evidence and took a jury of ten just over 2 hours to send down a verdict. They found for the Plantiffs, Frank Balaam and his wife Nora, and awarded them $223,000 for the loss of nearly 1000 pieces of artwork stretching over 30 years. The artwork was being housed in his gallery space within the Pioneer Hotel at the time of the fire. The other three plantiffs  in the case had reached out of court settlements prior to yesterday’s verdict. They included the Hollis family (Globe Theater), Tony and Chris Brusca (Java Junction) and Amanda and Tim Haas (Animal Magnetism).

Wilt, who owns over 80 properties throughout Gila, Pinal, Maricopa and Yavapai counties, says he  just “likes old buildings” and while 40% of his holdings are residential (mostly in Tempe), the majority of his holdings include old buildings throughout Globe, Miami and Superior.

He purchased the historic 1916 hotel from Patrick Harris in December 0f 2003 for the sum of $210,000 and said he felt the Pioneer Hotel was his “jewel.” Despite this professed fondness for the building, court records show that he did little to secure the long range health of the building. He fixed a cornice which was threatening to fall on the sidewalk below, but when it came to water leaks which was an on-going problem in the building,  his solution was to put down large swaths of black plastic which ran down the stairways and along the hallways. As he said, “It is a method I learned when I was a sophomore in Michigan. The idea is that you let the water sit on top of the plastic until it evaporates.” … Continue Reading

Wilt fails to appear at Court Date

Dr. Glenn Wilt, who began teaching in the early 60′s,  distinguished himself as an educator at ASU’s  WPCarey School of Business. These days, however he is finding his reputation as educator eclipsed in the news by his reputation as a slumlord. Wilt, who has built a career out of teaching others about finance and real estate now finds himself at odds with the communities where he invests and the courts which are beginning to take action on his apparent blatant disregard of city codes and official requests for action. With over eighty properties – both residential and commercial- throughout Tempe, Superior, Globe, Hayden and Winkleman, Dr. Wilt and his company, Superior Development Co. are increasingly in the news. … Continue Reading