Another completely unnecessary night of confusion, finger-pointing and buffoonery at Hallandale Beach City Hall. Agenda item re Gulfstream Park Race Track's $52k fine for Building Code Violations is deferred, but only after it became clear to one and all that execs at Gulfstream Park prefer to deal only with their pal, Mayor Cooper, not the ENTIRE elected City Commission, as the 4 other members find out about the deferral roughly 24 hours after Cooper; article & video re proposed Pegasus Park at Gulfstream Park; @DRFInsidePost, @HRTV, @raypaulick

Enjoying an incredible @BreedersCup with my fellow ambassadors @ElizabethBanks @MrJerryOC #BC13 pic.twitter.com/WeN0kUVDSQ
— Bo Derek (@boderek) November 5, 2013

And so ends the celebrity portion of this blog post.

The subject of our last blog post on Wednesday morning was the Hallandale Beach 
community's growing sense of frustration and consternation over what might actually transpire at that night's City Commission meeting. Specifically, Agenda item 14E regarding the $52,000 in fines owed by Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino to city taxpayers on account of their NOT following the Building Code with respect to their construction of their temporary barns.
They had no permit and started building anyway.
Really.

Like it wouldn't be noticed.

Do you recognize this "temporary" facility at Gulfstream Park's south parking lot. No, it's not the Hindenburg 2.0's new air hangar. What you're looking at above, looking east, is the "temporary" horse barn being constructed on the south side of the Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino, to the southeast of the Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex off U.S.-1/South Federal Highway, that is the center of an ethics controversy surrounding the rogue activities of a mayor in a city that has seen plenty of those -Hallandale Beach. September 27, 2013 photo by South Beach Hoosier. (c) 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Local10: Mayor wants $52K fine against Gulfstream Park waived
No vote taken on waiving fine at Hallandale Beach budget meeting
By Bob Norman, Reporter, bnorman@Local10.com, and Ben Candea, Senior Web Producer, bcandea@local10.com
Published On: Oct 04 2013 06:13:16 PM EDT   
Updated On: Oct 04 2013 11:51:10 PM EDT
http://www.local10.com/news/mayor-wants-52k-fine-against-gulfstream-park-waived/-/1717324/22282006/-/p0vivbz/-/index.html

The community's fear?

Of a highway robbery led by Gulfstream Park's defender-in-chief and HB Mayor Joy Cooper, with her standing in the way of the taxpayers of this city actually collecting what they were legally due for Gulfstream Park's own indifference to the rules they are REQUIRED to follow.
The Building Code is not a hatbox full of suggestions and recipes for success, it's the way things have to be. Period.

Well, after expending lots of time and energy and thought to all of that prior to the meeting guess what happened?

Correct, it was deferred until the November 20th City Commission meeting, which is the same date the they were already scheduled to consider Gulfstream Park's odd, 11-story Pegasus statue and Pegasus Park project, which I have  previously written about here on the blog, with some links to some articles about it below.

But back to the request for a deferral and how that really ignited a fuse.
Supposedly, the City Manager's office found out late Tuesday afternoon that nobody from Gulfstream would be available to attend the City Commission meeting, even though it is only across the street from HB City Hall and the meeting has been known about by all concerned.

Just like the THREE meetings this year with senior city staffers that Gulfstream Park blew-off because they couldn't manage to get themselves together, a fact that was publicly disclosed in the staff's background docs I included in my previous post.

Agenda item # 14E under City Business

E.    CONSIDERATION OF GULFSTREAM PARK PERMIT FINES FOR PERMIT #13-2881, GULFSTREAM TEMPORARY BARNS. (STAFF: DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

Specifically, the city staff was told late Tuesday afternoon that "Nobody from Toronto" could be here. (Actually their headquarters is located in a suburb of Toronto, Brampton.)

But the real problem is the fact that the only one of the five city members of the City Commission to know in advance that Gulfstream Park wouldn't be present and had requested
a deferral was -surprise- Mayor Cooper, longtime recipient of their campaign largess.
The rest of the commission found out Wednesday night during the meeting, despite the City Manager's office knowing for roughly 24 hours.

Comm. Michele Lazarow was especially indignant about the way things were handled by the City Manager's staff, yet again, with Gulfstream Park going thru their preferred conduit, Mayor Joy Cooper, instead of directly contacting the City Manager's office as they should've.

Which, of course, has sort of been my main point in my emails and blog posts about this matter, no? 
Transparency, public accountability and treating all businesses in HB the same and NOT forever having a culture that encourages showing favoritism.

As you may have gathered from what I've written with respect to this matter and her general outlook on things, Mayor Cooper isn't too interested in that sort of even-handed policy.
She has always liked to play favorites and pick winners and losers among the business community in the city.
And she doesn't really care what you think about that.

At the Hallandale Beach Planning & Zoning meeting I attended in late September, when it came time for public comments I rose up and strode over to the microphone to ask what i thought would be some pretty easy questions for them to answer, since neither I or anyone else is against it per se, it was just that as usual, Gulfstream Park has been ham-handed in what they were doing and keeping the community in the dark, justr as they have for years about night racing.

Almost everyone I know had heard about the plans but where was something definite that you could look at over at the park or online? Exactly.
Under-the-radar!!!

There also seemed to be a lot of confusion about it and when it would start, since previous media stories about this project, below, had given this past April as a starting point and these were not at all accurate.
They only started blocking off the enormous NE parking lot and re-configuring the main access road from the northern entrance on Hallandale Beach Blvd. in late September or early October.

I asked the reps from Gulfstream Park to show me and the P&Z Comm. and the public in the Chambers any renderings of what this statue would look like from US-1/Federal Highway, since that's how the vast majority of the public would see it forever once it was finished -by driving by. 
They had nothing to show me.

All they had was the same rendering of the statue, taken from below it, which tells you nothing about what it would look like from hundreds of feet away.
They couldn't answer other obvious questions, either.

I was really dumbfounded at the lack of forethought that the'd given this matter but then if you know that they haven't even considered what an 11-story statue would look like from the main road near it when there's currently nothing between it and the road, at least for now -even more enormous than described- you know what kind of people you're dealing with over there. And the results show it, too, which is sort of the problem, no?

Perhaps this new guy is supposed to help resolve problems like that...

NYRA Dir. of Racing P J Campo has been appointed Vice President of Racing for Stronach Group, will be based primarily at Gulfstream Park
— Mike Welsch (@DRFWelsch) November 6, 2013

So Stronach is building an #AmusementPark and hotel @GulfstreamPark wich mean we will never get another #BreedersCup. No parking!
— Joshua B Schwartz (@schwartzytime21) November 4, 2013

Here's something to look forward to on @GulfstreamPark property. Waterslides and a 110-foot-tall horse. #pegasus pic.twitter.com/1Bpm7uJIvj
— Ray Paulick (@raypaulick) October 23, 2013

It's like the Statue of Liberty has moved into your neighborhood but they hadn't thought that the people in the nearby community would be curious how it would appear to them.

No, this is not a joke: Gulfstream Park proposes 110-foot Pegasus and Dragon Statue http://t.co/1SNpJG7fak
— exMiami (@exMiaminews) September 30, 2013

South Florida Business Journal
Sep 25, 2013, 12:28pm EDT UPDATED: Sep 25, 2013, 2:09pm EDT
Gulfstream Park could add 11-story tall Pegasus statue to expansion
By Oscar Pedro Musibay, Reporter-South Florida Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2013/09/25/gulfstream-park-could-add-5-acre.html



Local10 video: Massive statue part of Gulfstream expansion plan 
Statue will be bigger than Statue of Liberty 
With the $1 million Florida Derby just days away on Saturday, Local 10 has learned about a major expansion plan at Gulfstream Park.
Published On: March 28 2013 07:36:36 PM EDT   
Updated On: March 28 2013 08:04:35 PM EDT
Reporter Jacey Birch 
http://www.local10.com/news/Massive-statue-part-of-Gulfstream-expansion-plan/-/1717324/19512844/-/nyyfh0/-/index.html

Local10 video: Gulfstream Park moves toward $500M expansion 
Park seeks to attract prestigious Breeder's Cup  
Reporter Todd Tongen, ttongen@Local10.com 
November 28, 2012 05:05:24 PM EST, 
Updated November 29, 2012 10:14:07 AM EST 
http://www.local10.com/news/Gulfstream-Park-moves-toward-500M-expansion/-/1717324/17582640/-/7nm4j2z/-/index.html

On Wednesday night, Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper has to defend her freelancing, breaking of city's rules in order to help her friends at Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino with bldg. code fines they EARNED. Again! Her campaign contributors, Gulfstream Park, must really love her "Special Rules for Special People" form of advocacy, but why does she save her energy & love for a multi-million dollar company instead of insisting they follow the law and finally fix up their appearance problems?

Do you recognize this "temporary" facility at Gulfstream Park's south parking lot. No, it's not the Hindenburg 2.0's new air hangar. What you're looking at above, looking east, is the "temporary" horse barn being constructed on the south side of the Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino, below, and to the southeast of the Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex off U.S.-1/South Federal Highway, that is the center of an ethics controversy surrounding the rogue activities of a mayor in a city that has seen plenty of those -Hallandale Beach. September 27, 2013 photo by South Beach Hoosier. (c) 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Local10: Mayor wants $52K fine against Gulfstream Park waived
No vote taken on waiving fine at Hallandale Beach budget meeting
By Bob Norman, Reporter, bnorman@Local10.com, and Ben Candea, Senior Web Producer, bcandea@local10.com
Published On: Oct 04 2013 06:13:16 PM EDT   
Updated On: Oct 04 2013 11:51:10 PM EDT
http://www.local10.com/news/mayor-wants-52k-fine-against-gulfstream-park-waived/-/1717324/22282006/-/p0vivbz/-/index.html

Agenda for Wednesday night's Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting at 6:30 p.m.

http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/files/2013-11-06-FINAL/Agenda%20Outline%20for%202013-11-06%2018-30.htm

Agenda item # 14E under City Business

E.    CONSIDERATION OF GULFSTREAM PARK PERMIT FINES FOR PERMIT #13-2881, GULFSTREAM TEMPORARY BARNS. (STAFF: DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)

Consider this helpful Local10 video a helpful predicate for better understanding this blog post for those readers trying to make sense of it far from Hallandale Beach. 

Just a reminder, Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino is directly across the street from HB City Hall.

Local10 video: Mayor wants $52K fine against Gulfstream Park waived

No vote taken on waiving fine at Hallandale Beach budget meeting
By Bob Norman, Reporter, bnorman@Local10.com, and Ben Candea, Senior Web Producer, bcandea@local10.com
Published On: Oct 04 2013 06:13:16 PM EDT   
Updated On: Oct 04 2013 11:51:10 PM EDT
http://www.local10.com/news/mayor-wants-52k-fine-against-gulfstream-park-waived/-/1717324/22282006/-/p0vivbz/-/index.html

On Wednesday night at 6:30, Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper has to defend her track record of having broken the city's own written rules of operation in order to help her friends at Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino in their attempts to get out of paying legitimate building code fines they were guilty of. Again!

The fact is that when it comes to building code violations, especially of the egregious kind,

Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino is a serial offender. They have been cited many times by the city and state and are currently paying fines everyday because of previous violations they are trying to avoid paying, despite lots of evidence gathered by both city and state officials. (Some of which is in the staff backup info above.)

But this is who the mayor is trying to defend while defending herself, and she still wants to stiff the citizens of this community and have them just swallow the fine, like it was an after-dinner dessert. 

But why should they?

Especially given that Gulfstream Park is a serial offender?

Mayor Cooper is legally and morally supposed to represent the citizens, taxpayers and small business owners of this community and put their best interests above all other interests, including her own. 

She actually takes an oath of office that requires her to faithfully obey the Florida Constitution and the laws of this state, swearing NOT to break its laws. 

She also is obliged to obey the laws, rules and ordinances of this rather imperfect city and one of them specifically concerns "Interference with Administration."

Mayor Cooper is NOT legally allowed to decide on her own personal or political whims to wear multiple hats, to abrogate her duties to the city and this community and then take sides against it by taking it upon herself to represent the financial interests of the city's largest employer in a matter -AGAINST the people of this very community who have
Gulfstream Park dead-to-rights and a reasonable expectation that the mayor of the city is NOT actively working against THEM. 

In this city with its current City Manger form of government, as opposed to a Strong  Mayor form that exists in many Northern cities, Mayor Cooper clearly broke the city's own written administrative code on interfering with the day-to-day operations when she began inquiring and asking questions and making demands of city employees.

The specific rules involved are located at the bottom of this email.

Mayor Cooper has no legal authority to help a third-party, Gulfstream Park, get out of

paying a fine from the city and the state and yet she tried to do both, even trying to have the  state's fine waived too until the city attorney told her that night that the city did not have the legal authority to do so.

Frankly, it was embarrassing that this even had to be said out loud.

There's a carefully-proscribed and written process for city commissioners interacting with city employees and it's one she did NOT follow.

But then she also did NOT follow common sense and did NOT show a commitment to integrity and transparency when she tried to have the HB City Commission waive the fine GP owes within mere minutes of her having told them about it at the end of a long September 25th night meeting, with no information for the confused members to read or think about, just Cooper's words and public admission of what she'd done.

That this matter was not on the agenda or opened up to the public to discuss was immaterial to Mayor Cooper-she wanted the fine removed ASAP.

But she was defeated in her attempts to circumvent the public's right -and city commission's- to know more about this matter in advance and in some detail that did 

NOT rely solely on her word alone.

Can you imagine such a preposterous thing as her thinking they'd vote on a matter involving tens of thousands of dollars AND that would set a very bad precedent based solely on what she said, with no facts or supporting evidence?

It's clear that Joy Cooper, quite literally, sees herself as indispensable.

But she is the mayor of a small city with a city manger form of government, not the mayor of a large urban city with a strong-mayor form of government, yet despite this difference and the well-understood written rules about what is and is not acceptable, she just keeps doing whatever she wants and dares anyone in a position of authority to stop her.

Cooper continues to show that she wants to make as many important decisions for the city (and everyone else) as possible, without adequate vetting and public disclosure.

As she tried to do on September 25th.

Her erratic and unprofessional behavior suggest to me that she is putting herself and the city on very thin ethical and legal ice thru her conduct and behavior, which would not be taking place with a competent City Manager at the helm.

But as little as I and most of the people I know think of mediocre and mendacious City Manager Renee C. Miller, whom we gave plenty of chances to actually be the reform person she claimed to be last summer in speaking to her in-person, but who has failed to be that person by even the slimmest of standards, even we don't think she'd allow Cooper to do all this if she was around.

So while the not-so-effective cat was away on maternity leave, the erratic, unethical mouse does whatever she wants to do and laughs.

Did you know that Mayor Cooper was actually dumb enough to claim at that very same City Commission meeting that some of the info discussed at these meetings she attended was "proprietary."

First, I doubt that was the case because the others involved can't be dumb enough to not know that Cooper can't keep a secret, and would feel the need to share the info ASAP just so she could pump her own thin-skinned and fragile ego.

Second, if the info was "proprietary" info, by placing herself there, anyone, like me or a TV reporter or another developer, could legally make a public records request for all the documents she was given and any notes she made, and Mayor Cooper would be on her own and have no ability to use the taxpayers wallets to defend herself.

It would be up to Gulfstream  to get their attorneys involved, not the city's problem.

Which is to say, taxpayers like you and me.

Absent a legal motion, the city would have no choice but to turn over the documents.

It's hard to believe but it's true that even after all these years, Mayor Cooper seems unable to grasp the fact that in her position, she is NOT entitled to be involved in any internal discussion among parties who will have business before the city and be in opposition to the city or other businesses in the area who would necessarily be disadvantaged by certain things being done for the first company.

She is NOT legally in a position to say what the city would or would not do, and yet she seems to keep doing just that, doesn't she?

And in the process, keeping the four other elected members of the five-member City Commission completely in the dark on important matters in this city.

That's NOT how a well-run city runs.

Not that the city is or ever has been anything close to a well-run city, but do the standards here have to continue to be this low?

-----

CHARTER OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH

ARTICLE III. - CITY COMMISSION

DIVISION 1: - ELECTION AND QUALIFICATIONS

DIVISION 2: - POWERS AND DUTIES

DIVISION 3: - VACANCIES  

DIVISION 2: - POWERS AND DUTIES

Sec. 3.05: - City commission; powers; composition.

Sec. 3.06: - General powers and duties.

Sec: 3.07: - Prohibitions.

Sec. 3.08: - Investigations.

Sec: 3.07: - Prohibitions.

 (2)   Appointments and removals. Neither the commission nor any of its members shall in any manner dictate the appointment or removal of any city administrative officers or employees whom the manager or any of his subordinates are empowered to appoint, but the commission may express its views and fully and freely discuss with the manager anything pertaining to appointment and removal of such officers and employees.

(3)    Interference with administration. Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations, the commission or its members shall deal with city officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the manager solely through the manager, and neither the commission nor its members shall give orders to any such officer or employee, either publicly or privately. Nothing in the foregoing is to be construed to prohibit individual members of the commission from closely scrutinizing by questions and personal observation all aspects of city government operations so as to obtain independent information to assist the members in the formulation of policies to be considered by the commission and assure the implementation of such policies as have been adopted. It is the express intent of this provision, however, that such inquiry shall not interfere directly with the ordinary municipal operations of the city and that recommendations for change or improvement in city government operations be made to and through the city manager.

(Ord. No. 1999-15, § 1, 8-17-1999; Ord. No. 2003-28, § 2, 11-18-2003; Ord. No. 2008-04, § 2 (3.08), 3-5-2008)

Sec. 3.08: - Investigations.

The commission may make investigations into the affairs of the city and the conduct of any city department, election, office, or agency, and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and require the production of evidence. Any person who fails or refuses to obey a lawful order issued in the exercise of these powers by the commission shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days, or both.

(Ord. No. 2003-28, § 2, 11-18-2003)

ARTICLE VII. - OFFICIAL CONDUCT

Sec. 7.01: - Standards of ethics.

Sec. 7.02: - Personal financial interest.

Sec. 7.03: - Penalties.

Sec. 7.01: - Standards of ethics.

All elected officials and employees of the city shall be subject to the standards of conduct for public officers and employees set by general law and this Charter. In addition, the commission may, by ordinance, establish a code of ethics for officials and employees of the city.

(Ord. No. 2003-28, § 2, 11-18-2003)

State law reference—  Code of ethics for public employees, F.S. § 112.311 et seq.

Sec. 7.03: - Penalties.

Violations of ordinances or this Charter shall be punishable in accordance with the uniform fines and penalties set by general law.

(Ord. No. 2003-28, § 2, 11-18-2003)

State law reference—  Penalty for violations, F.S. § 162.21.

 I was going in a clock-wise direction as I shot these photos, which can be enlarged by right-clicking with your mouse while hovering over the individual photo.
All original photos on this page are by me and from September 27, 2013. (c) 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.

These photos are all looking east at the "temporary" horse barn with condos in background actually over on State Road A1A and the beach.

Looking southeast from the same spot towards the City of Aventura park on the other side of the fence on NE 213th Street, where the kids and parents have absolutely no idea what's in store for them for the next entire year.

The photos below are all looking due north at the main grandstand, casino and  restaurants.

Baltimore Sun's savvy TV critic David Zurawik zeroes-in on Beltway political class & MSM's tacit agreement on unethical conduct and asks rhetorical question: "Is it wrong for CNN's Paul Begala to ask me to give money to Al Franken?" Yes, let me count the ways...but let's not forget to throw Stephanie Cutter on the fire, too; @davidzurawik

Is it wrong for CNN's Paul Begala to ask me to give money to Al Franken? http://t.co/RDGxAD4JoV
— David Zurawik (@davidzurawik) November 4, 2013

Baltimore Sun
Z on TV blog
Was it wrong for CNN's Paul Begala to ask me to give Al Franken money?
To me, this is how the channel's news identity is demeaned by mixing politics, money and media
By David Zurawik The Baltimore Sun
6:58 a.m. EST, November 4, 2013

Maybe it's just me, but a fundraising letter I received from CNN's Paul Begala last week struck me as emblematic of what's wrong when media are mixed with money and politics -- as they increasingly are these days at cable TV news channels in Washington.

Here's the letter. And you tell me if this is appropriate for someone listed as "commentator" at CNN -- someone who also appears on the channel's website under the heading "Anchors/Reporters" as Begala does

Read the rest of the post at:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bal-cnn-paul-begala-money-fund-raising-20131031,0,6011421.story

As for Stephanie Cutter, well, she merely proves that the sort of unethical behavior we've been force-fed by America's Mainstream Media and been forced to expect from certain Democratic Party & GOP consultants and strategists is not a Male-Only preserve:

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/09/cnn-lowered-its-ethical-standards-make-things-easier-newt-gingrich/69959/

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/09/obama-guys-were-too-afraid-demote-stephanie-cutter/69384/

Fox News Channel
White House getting advice on Syria from former Obama campaign advisers 
By Ed Henry
Published September 03, 2013 FoxNews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/03/white-house-getting-advice-on-syria-from-former-obama-campaign-advisers/

Sure, why not get advice from people who don't actually know anything original about the country or speak French and Arabic, and who only know what other people have told them or what they've read.
Just like your neighbor or the person who hands you your coffee at Panera Bread.

My recollections of September are that President Obama's policy on Syria was a disaster from beginning to end and something that everyone, regardless of political ideology, agreed upon on from coast-to-coast.
You remember, the policy that even the Washington Post's Editorial Board strongly criticized and which I mentioned last Tuesday, here:
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.be/2013/10/obamas-bad-foreign-policy-from-start.html

The one time in five years that Obama really brought the country together -in opposition to his own policies.

Sure, of course, that result is to be expected when you've got such great consultants and advisors.
Just don't say anything bad about Valerie Jarrett and her lack of knowledge or else...

-----
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/

More on Hoosier Great Walt Bellamy who died this morning, a seminal member of #HoosierNation; #iubb, #Hoosiers

#HoosierNation mourns loss of seminal family member as Olympian, Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy died this morning, http://t.co/irn7BbgR7s #iubb
— HallandaleBeachBlog (@hbbtruth) November 2, 2013

Hoosier Nation has lost one of its great legends today with the passing of Walt Bellamy, IU and NBA Hall of Famer. pic.twitter.com/anfdi6e6co
— Indiana University (@IUBloomington) November 2, 2013

A starter on the IU basketball team from 1959-61, Walt Bellamy was also IU's Most Valuable Player, an All-Big Ten and All-American in his junior and senior seasons of 1960 and 1961, the starting center of the Gold Medal-winning Olympic basketball team at the 1960 Rome Olympics, and remains IU's all-time IU rebound leader. He was a 1982 Inductee into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Rookie of the Year Roommates: Bellamy's freshman roommate was IU football star Earl Faison. Their first year away from IU, Faison, of the San Diego Chargers, was named AFL Rookie of the year while Bellamy, with the Chicago Packers, was voted NBA Rookie of the Year. 

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Bellamy

I must've sat in the TV room at the Indiana Memorial Union hundreds and hundreds of times with Walt Bellamy's black & white photo right next to me from 1979-1983, watching local news, sports, General Hospital, All My Children, et al when that room was packed full of IU students and festooned with Hoosier athletic memories from decades past, from floor to ceiling, basketballs to footballs, photos and trophies.

Only one of my favorite places on campus, it was also my (and many friends') unofficial hangout in that era before cell phones made communication so easy.
And with all the long hours I put in with the Student Athletic Board (SAB)and the-then IU Student Alumni Council, (SAC), as I've written here previously, I sometimes spent more time there than I did at home in my apt.

On a huge-but-beautiful campus like we were blessed to enjoy in Bloomington, with so many attractive distractions and lots of distance sometimes between classes in my case, that TV room at the enormous Student Union, with all of its memories was one of my/our Centers of the Universe, every IU team photo, medal, football, basketball like part of our family heritage that we had an obligation to live up to.

And in my sophomore year of 1980-1981, we did, winning the fourth of IU's NCAA basketball championships, with the able defensive help of one of my friends, James "Jim" Thomas, #20, Mr. Florida Basketball his senior year at Nova High School in Davie, and a member of the 1981 NCAA Tournament All-First Team for everything he did to help the Hoosiers that remarkable March to remember.
Jim was Coach Knight's first-ever recruit ever from Florida.