NEWPORT BEACH Docked for a tour A...

NEWPORT BEACH

Docked for a tour

A familiar sight for movie buffs sailed into Newport Harbor last

week.

The Lady Washington, a reconstruction of an 18th century sailing

vessel, and the Bill of Rights, docked at the Newport Harbor Nautical

Museum for an eight-day stay that’s still afloat.

The Lady Washington, for those with good memories, played the role

of the HMS Interceptor in “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” starring

Johnny Depp.

Both ships are open for public tours, and school field trips are

planned. They just won’t be going as far as the original Lady

Washington, which sailed around Cape Horn and to China.

* Think parking on the Balboa Peninsula costs too much?

Try $12 million.

That’s the high end of an estimate for what it would cost to build

a 135-space parking structure at 23rd Street and Balboa Boulevard.

The City Council talked about the idea last week, but only in a

study session that doesn’t require a vote.

There are other hurdles beside the cost still. The first is

finding out if the property owners are even willing to sell.

The idea’s an early hit with business owners, who say they have

trouble attracting customers because of a dearth of parking.