Insights and trends on developing and ongoing Tucson regional business news.

La Paloma owner defaults

Transwest Partners/NCH Corporation, which just 11 months ago acquired the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa, 3800 E. Sunrise Drive, has defaulted on the last two monthly debt service payments on a subordinate loan it used to acquire the property, according to a Securities and Exchange filing.

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Ashford Hospitality Trust, which holds a mezzanine loan for $21.5 million, reported the default in a Nov. 7 filing. The major loan for the purchase was $209 million made by JP Morgan Real Estate.

Transwest Partners/NCH Corporation acquired the Westin La Paloma and the Westin Hilton Island Resort in South Carolina for $310 million.

In its filing, Ashford Hospitality Trust said it was evaluating “options and remedies to determine the best course of action.”

Turnout higher, no record

The Insider got caught by Pima County’s dawdling over counting ballots when it reported in the Nov. 10 issue that just under 65 percent of registered voters had cast ballots. That was based on the county’s tabulations through the end of the day Nov. 6, with just five precincts left to be counted. Then, lo and behold, as of the end of the day Nov. 8, the county said it had final “unofficial and unaudited” results showing total voter turnout was 73.8 percent.

That’s still far short of a record or the 80 percent turnout election officials had predicted. But the point still stands that John Kerry and George W. Bush received more votes in 2004 than Barack Obama or John McCain did this year.