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Celebs
Keep your eyes peeled in the Ocean State.
We’re just months and change into ’24, and the tiniest state is pulling more than its weight in terms of celebs spotted out-and-about in Rhode Island this year.
Chiefs star Travis Kelce — he dates a Westerly, R.I. homeowner, you may have heard of her — announced the Kelce bros’ “New Heights” podcast last week: He did not, however, eat sushi in California with Super Bowl foe Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers despite the the paparazzi pics that landed on Page Six. That was coincidence, Kelce said — but considering they both have partners with Rhody ties, it could happen again.
McCaffrey dined this week at Cranston’s Twin Oaks Restaurant with his fiancé/Cranston native Olivia Culpo. The former Miss Universe — and longtime fan of the restaurant’s chicken parm — snapped a shot of her boo with fans, including Jessica Schiano of 92 PRO-FM. (Travis and Taylor: date night idea.)
Meanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis, who made a splash at the Oscars Sunday night, was spotted Friday on Broadway in Providence filming “Ella McCay.” She dined last week at PVD pizza spot Figidini. (“Your energy was infectious & was radiating as hot as our oven,” @figidini noted on their Insta post.)
Curtis and castmates Woody Harrelson — also spotted filming on Broadway recently — Albert Brooks — wearing a black varsity jacket embroidered “Albert” (insert 100 emoji here) — director James L. Brooks, and others kicked off filming in the state Feb. 1 at Providence’s Vino & Contorni. (Internet, do your thing: It appears the film’s star Emma Mackey, also of “Barbie,” is left of Woody in one shot.)
A few days later, “Kingpin” Harrelson got his Roy Munson on in Cranston, at Lang’s Bowlarama. He’s not the only celeb who’s rolled recently: “Project Runway” season 17 designer Jamall Osterholm — a Cranston native and RISD alum — hit the lanes Feb. 17.
Coming as a shock to no one: Harrelson also hit up a cannabis dispensary. He was spotted at Mother Earth Wellness in Pawtucket in February.
Keep your eyes peeled for more “Ella” stars: according to IMDB, the “Ella McCay” cast includes Dorchester’s Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri, Kumail Nanjiani, and Jack Lowden (“Dunkirk”).
Meanwhile, “Sopranos” alum Steve “Bobby Baccalieri” Schirripa returned for meatballs at Longo Ristorante Pizzeria in Westerly a few weeks ago to share a plate, quite literally, with his pup Willie.
“Willie loves it here. I love it here. Listen to me. Now listen,” Schirripa said in an Instagram video posted by the Italian restaurant. “The best meatballs I’ve ever had anywhere,” he said, taking a bite, then forking another piece to feed Willie. “And Willie loves it.”
He’s not kidding about his love for these meatballs, folks.
In November, Longo posted that Schirripa stopped in again for his “meatball fix.”
He and Michael “Chrissy” Imperioli dined at the same spot last summer: “This is the best meatball you will ever ever eat anywhere,” Schirripa said then to the camera.
“The other thing is they know how to cook pasta to the right consistency,” Imperioli added.
I’m not sure, but I think a “Sopranos” cast endorsement is officially the highest honor an Italian restaurant can get.
Oh, and baseball fans: Pete Rose also loves these meatballs.
Meanwhile, Rhody pizza is getting its share of the ’24 spotlight:
Dave Portnoy, of Barstool Sports and Internet-famous “One Bite Pizza Reviews,” brought his 1.24 million pizza subscribers on a tour of Rhode Island in January. For the record:
Then the true test: Cold red pizza strips — as traditionally Rhode Island as coffee milk — at Johnston’s D. Palmieri’s Bakery: “This is just tomato sauce on bread … This ain’t my vibe.” As for their “regular” pie? “It’s good stuff … I’m glad I tried this and didn’t stick just to strips.”
(Dave, it’s an acquired taste. A few more visits and you’ll be pairing with a tall glass of Autocrat.)
Picking up on a theme, here? Same. It seems Italian food is a common draw.
Both Henry Winkler and “Seinfeld’s” J. Peterman, a.k.a. John O’Hurley, have told me of their love of PVD’s famous Italian food.
“I’m always on Federal Hill wolfing down some Italian specialty,” O’Hurley told me in ’22. (The line is just so perfectly Peterman.)
In an Instagram post last spring, “Blossom” and “Big Bang Theory” alum Mayim Bialik called Joe Marzilli’s Old Canteen Italian Restaurant “the best Italian food I think I’ve ever had.”
If you spot a celeb in Rhode Island, tag Lauren Daley on Instagram @laurendaley1, and your post could make the next roundup. Lauren Daley can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1.
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The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 22, 2026, results for each game:
17-19-21-45-48, Powerball: 13, Power Play: 2
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“Many people said it wouldn’t be done or couldn’t be done, and today we are here not only to say it’s getting done, but the funding is secure, and the construction of this infrastructure will begin within the next two months,” Grebien said.
Grebien anticipates the eastern side of the development will be fully built within three to four years, he said.
The work marks a step forward for the project, which had been burdened by persistent inflation in recent years. Rising costs led to a higher price tag than initially anticipated for the complex’s soccer and live entertainment stadium, the project’s first phase. The project relied on public bonds that are set to cost taxpayers more than $130 million over the next three decades.
State officials had originally said its financial support would pay for the stadium and other work around it, but with the difficult economic climate, the state later shifted nearly all of its financial backing to the stadium itself. Still, developer Fortuitous Partners has long said it will see through the rest of the public-private partnership, including hundreds of units of new housing.
“We’ve worked very hard over the last couple years to smooth over obstacles big and small to get us here,” Pawtucket City Council President Terrence Mercer said.
The next phase of the development will focus on a more than 10-acre swath of land along the eastern shore of the Seekonk River, across the water from the stadium, Grebien said. There, development firm Pennrose plans to construct more than 70 units of affordable housing, while Wood Partners plans to build 325 market-rate units, he said.
“The financial stack is there,” Grebien said. “They’re ready to move …. They needed to see the stadium first to make sure it was that successful.”
The stadium has welcomed nearly 250,000 people since it opened in spring 2025, according to Dan Kroeber, managing partner at Fortuitous Partners.
“The evolution of this city, the evolution of Tidewater Landing is really just beginning,” Kroeber said.
For now, the city will build out stormwater infrastructure for that area, as well as “new sections of the public riverwalk, landscaping, lighting, and expanded public recreation spaces,” officials said. Pawtucket will also build a pedestrian bridge to link the development across the river.
“You’ve got the Seekonk River being activated, public and private investment, bringing new pedestrian connections, open space, and critical infrastructure down here — all the ingredients that we need to create a great neighborhood in this area,” said Quinlan Locke, vice president of development at Wood Partners.
According to Grebien, additional housing on the western side of the river, in what is now an unpaved parking lot just north of the stadium, will be built in a future phase. He said about 300 additional units are anticipated on that side of the river.
“Over the next four to five years, you’ll start seeing development on this side, if not sooner, because I think the market will push it,” he said.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
Years went by and Henry, now 40, and with a family of his own, returned to his comic strip with a more poignant and real understanding of family life.
Henry talked to the Globe about his philosophy for the comic, creative inspiration, the four main characters — Wallace, Spud, Amelia, and Rose — and his old school approaching to drawing.
Q. Where did your love for comics originate?
Henry: Like most cartoonists, I’ve been drawing my entire life. It was something I’ve been doing since I was a kid and it was a passion that stayed with me through elementary school, high school, and even in college, where I was writing comics for the daily campus paper at the University of Connecticut. No matter what odd job I was doing I was always finding time to do cartooning at home. Andrews McMeel Universal gave me a chance to syndicate “Wallace the Brave” nationwide and internationally.

Were you doodling and thought ‘This might be a great career?” or did this come on later in life?
It came later on. When I was in elementary school, I was copying “Garfield” comics word-for-word to show my friends or copying “Far Side,” but it was just for fun and a creative outlet. It wasn’t really until that first year in college when I realized the job does exist. Someone has to do it. I thought maybe that could be me.
Describe “Wallace the Brave” and the world of Snug Harbor?
I would describe it as the view of a small town through the eyes of kids in grade school, full of mystery, and wonder, and adventure. and friendship. I take a lot of pride in the character development, but it’s a coastal New England town, which I think is why it would be perfect for the Boston Globe, and I think a lot of people in that area will see parts of New England that they recognize, even if it’s vague.
How much did growing up in Rhode Island — the Ocean State — shape that setting?
Oh, absolutely. I’m a child of the ’80s, where things were a little more lawless and there’s a bit of that in that comic. I’m really interested in just what happens when children get bored. Their mind wanders and adventure starts. Less screen time, more nature, and with Rhode Island being the backdrop of that, there’s a lot of ocean-focused scenery, and jokes. It’s almost like Easter eggs for the New England readership. It definitely has its heart in Rhode Island and New England.

What is “Wallace the Brave’s” origin, is it based on anybody you knew?
I’ve always kind of said the two main characters are Wallace and his best friend, Spud, and they’re opposites, but they’re very good friends. They counter each other’s weirdness and they appreciate each other’s weirdness, even if it’s a different kind of weirdness. The two characters are sort of my two personalities, just separated and magnified, and that’s where you kind of get the Wallace and Spud character. Wallace is who I want to be on a daily basis — positive, uplifting, and a ride or die friend — and Spud is the understated nervous worrier, which on my worst days I can be.
Do you think these characters all balance themselves out?
Balance is tricky. It’s more of about being true to the characters and giving them depth. I try to make them more than just two-dimensional characters, like, that one’s the nerd and that one’s the sports jock, because I have two kids, and they and their friends are not one-dimensional. They have many layers, I try to incorporate that with the way they interact with each other.
Are comparisons to Calvin and Hobbes humbling?
Oh, I love it. It’s one of the best comics ever made. I’ve had, and I get a lot of, comparisons with Calvin and Hobbs, Cul de Sac, and Peanuts, all awesome comics to be compared to. I will absolutely take it as a compliment.

Did you have any missteps on the way to syndication?
I’ve had a lot of failures in the cartoon world. I mean, I’ve probably had three or four comics before “Wallace the Brave,” and they progressively got better. The one before “Wallace the Brave” was called “Ordinary Bill,” and it had a little bit of a readership, and it was sort of that web-comic model, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t a great comic, and I abandoned it once the idea for “Wallace” came to me.
Why do you think comics about kids experiencing life unplugged — collecting bugs and flying kites — connects with readers right now?
It serves the same purpose as the comics serve in the newspaper as a whole. It’s a bit of escapism from the world. I want to live more like Wallace, but I’m still in front of a computer a lot, still checking out social media, so I think it’s a bit of escapism. One thing I’ve noticed — because as my kids come into reading age and are starting to read the comic more seriously — they’re taking cues from it. They want to be like the characters in it. I’m hoping a little bit of that trickles down to the kid audience, where they take a moment more to explore the world around them.
Are you using a computer to draw or hand-drawing your comic strip?
I am a dinosaur when it comes to that because I am still working pen and paper. I will usually watercolor them, but for for print in the Boston Globe, they’ll be colored digitally, just because it reproduces better.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
The Boston Globe’s weekly Ocean State Q&A features Rhode Islanders who are starting new businesses or nonprofits, conducting groundbreaking research, or reshaping the state’s economy. Send tips and suggestions to rinews@globe.com.
Carlos Muñoz can be reached at carlos.munoz@globe.com. Follow him @ReadCarlos and on Instagram @Carlosbrknews.
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