The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 22

4B I TUESDAY MAY 3 2005 METRO STATE THE HERALD PAPER BOATS FLOODED STREETS BROWARD COUNTY TBN to woo with virtual life-of- Jesus experience SMART BOX Trinity Broadcasting Network is planning a 50-seat theater for Pembroke Park where visitors will be able to see at no charge recreated scenes from life THE COMING THEATER WILFREDO LEEAP Luis Moreno 13 tosses a boat made of folded newspaper into a flooded street near his home after a sudden downpour on Monday in Miami Beach The South Florida forecast calls for rain the rest of the week What: Trinity Broadcasting Virtual Reality Theater Where: 3262 Pembroke Rd in Pembroke Park just west of Interstate 95 Opening: By end of I year a Admission: Free a Features: A walk-through recreation of the Via Dolorosa the Jerusalem street that Jesus walked bearing the cross a 50-seat cinema showing films about Jesus and a store with Christian-themed gifts SOURCE Trinity Broadcasting Network MIAMI BEACH Limits for sex offenders sought CROWDING OUT SEX OFFENDERS? A proposed Miami Beach ordinance would expand the zones in which sex offenders are prohibited from living-from 1000 feet around a school or park to 2500 feet all but pushing offenders outside city limits A law like 2000 feet could very well make it impossible for sex offenders to live anywhere TERESA JACOBS child advocate Current zones 1000 feet from parte and schools Proposed zones 2500 feet from parte and schools THE NETWORK a What: Trinity Broadcasting Network a Founders: Paul and Jan Crouch a Claim to fame: Largest Christian broadcast network in the nation a Main office: Trinity Christian City International in Costa Mesa Calif a Other production locations: Tennessee Texas and Georgia Tennessee and Texas also have 'virtual theaters SOURCE Trinity Broadcasting Network I -z it School buffer flftFi wyw mi Sf HERALD STAFF BY DIANA M0SK0VITZ dmoskovitz a herald com South Floridians soon will be able to experience the life of Jesus in Pembroke Park Trinity Broadcasting the largest Christian television network will open a 50-seat theater in which the Bible will come to life in high-definition video and 48-channel sound part of a continuing trend sometimes called From the best-selling Left Behind series of New Testament-based adventure novels to the life-size recreation of ancient Israel at Land evangelical Christians are using entertainment to spread the Gospel just part of a big phenomenon in terms of this marriage of entertainment and said Lynn Schofield Clark who teaches in the University of School of Journalism and Mass Communication and has written on the relationship between religion and the media NOT A FIRST The Pembroke Park theater just west of Interstate 95 on Pembroke Road will be modeled after others that TBN has built in Tennessee Texas and California The Pembroke Park location which is expected to open by the end of the year will have free admission although visitors will be invited to visit the Gold Frankincense and Myrrh Gift and Book Shop Visitors will walk through an indoor recreation of the Jerusalem street where Jesus carried his cross The path will lead to the movie theater featuring films such as own Revolutionary I and Revolutionary II about life and works and the apocalyptic thriller The Omega Code The pink-and-white building lined with spiraling columns is going up next to existing television production studio and Trinity Towers recreational vehicle park at 3300 Pembroke Rd beside a Coca-Cola bottling plant The network also owns the nearby driving range the one visited by Cameron Diaz in the hit movie Something About Mary At Holy Land Experience visitors walk through 15 acres that include exhibits of biblical artifacts and recreations of biblical locales including a half-scale version of Jerusalem temple More than one million people have visited since it opened four years ago said Marvin Rosenthal president of Hope ministry which oversees the Holy Land Experience THE OLD AND NEW have simply taken more recent technology to communicate the old old message of the Rosenthal said Meanwhile the Left Behind novels which have sold- more than 55 million copies chronicle the efforts of a group of freedom fighters battling the Antichrist before the end of the world One reason for the boom in religion mixing with pop culture: Hollywood has realized that religion can sell And at the same time evangelical Christians noticed LIMITS FROM IB Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer would require sexual offenders to live at least 2500 feet from schools playgrounds bus stops or any place children gather It would virtually push those offenders outside city limits since Miami Beach is just 7 Vi miles wide and has 37 parks and more than a dozen schools The change would more than double the 1000-foot buffer zone established by the state The ordinance already has received unanimous support from the commission in the first of two votes it must clear Since then the city of North Miami has given preliminary approval to a similar ordinance Officials in the city of Sweetwater were to vote late Monday on legislation Dozens of other cities have made inquiries said John Hef-fernan special advisor to Dermer In Broward County officials in Pembroke Pines Hallandale Beach Miramar and Fort Lauderdale are all considering similar proposals which have drawn some criticism from constitutional experts Experts worry that if several cities pass the same 2500-foot buffer zone large swaths of the state could be rendered off-limits to offenders who have already served time think there is a plausible constitutional argument about infringing on basic civil said Mark Tushnet a professor who specializes in First Amendment law at Georgetown University Law School would expect someone to challenge it if an entire part of the state is effectively carved Tushnet said But Dermer and other city leaders argue that the rights of children supersede those of sexual offenders who may repeat their behavior who focus on the protection of predators and not the children are in the business of twisting the truth to make a trap for Dermer said North Joe Celes- Hotel and Restaurant Association argued that the law would penalize just about any property owner would seem to follow that a prohibition that applied to the residency of a tenant must also apply to the residency of a property Kelsey wrote this would mean that anyone wanting to own a home on Miami Beach (or already owning a home here) that was within 2500 feet of a school or playground would need to be subjected to a police background check as would all members of the advocates say rather see more money spent on helping police make sure offenders follow existing registration laws which force sex offenders to notify law enforcement about where they are living each time they move A recent Herald investigation revealed that 1800 of 30000 offenders in the state had absconded without being found by law enforcement Advocates say better to have realistic rules offenders can follow so they will register To reduce the chance of recidivism offenders need to be able to find jobs and housing child advocates and legal experts say law like 2000 feet could very well make it impossible for sex offenders to live anywhere in a said Teresa Jacobs program manager for the Minnesota-based Jacob Wetterling Foundation which aims to protect children from sexual exploitation and abduction more difficult it becomes to find a place to live the more you are going to see lack of registration and more transient lifestyles that is actually putting your children more at tin who insists that he first suggested the increased distance said he simply wants offenders out of his city really care where they live At this point I care if they live out of Celestin said The move toward stricter local ordinances comes at a time when Florida is strengthening its state law against sexual predators in response to high-profile tragedies On Monday Gov Jeb Bush signed a law that lengthens prison sentences and requires satellite tracking devices for the worst offenders Florida is one of several states that have specific restrictions on where sex offenders can live in relation to schools or in some cases parks and day-care centers Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Missouri and Kentucky all have such restrictions according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Dermer said the most compelling factor behind his proposal has been the recent rape and murders of Florida children He said he chose 2500 feet because it is the same buffer zone required of sex trade shows and pornography merchants in relation to schools and gathering places Dermer is already claiming some victory The number of registered sexual offenders in the city fell from 36 to 31 since the idea was proposed he said think the law is sending a very clear While the proposed law retroactive it could affect the remaining 31 sexual offenders if they choose to renew a lease or rent a different apartment on the Beach Despite the groundswell of support Dermer may face some resistance as the law comes up May 18 for a public hearing and final vote For example landlords may object to an amendment that was attached to the ordinance by a city committee: It would place some of the responsibility for verifying the sexual offender status of a potential renter on landlords Landfords who fail to do so could be fined In an April 26 letter to commissioners David Kelsey president of the South Beach that the mass media could advance their causes said Bruce Forbes professor of religious studies at Morning-side College in Sioux City Iowa Viewers only have to go back 20 years to see almost no mention of religion on television he said Protestants who were at war with popular culture have changed their minds and decided to dive Forbes said MODEL THAT WORKS By expanding beyond television into other media TBN is behaving much like mainstream media companies as when America Online merged with Time Warner Clark said some ways you can see what they are trying to do as following the model for ownership that has been used by the media at Clark said TBN attorney John Caso-ria said South Florida is a natural location for a new theater after the success of local television station WHFT-45 On Monday nights TBN stations nationwide carry live broadcasts of the Praise the Lord program from the Pembroke Park studios The station also does a significant amount of Spanish programming Casoria said The goal is targeting tourists and regular TBN viewers living in the area he said All the theaters so far have been successful Casoria said although he did not know how many visitors they get As for the future of Forbes said the trend will last as long as there is an audience American popular response will make a big difference in whether or not a fad Forbes said Is your head spinning from too much travel advice? Find Travel Solutions in Sunday 's Herald 4.