“We are here because there weren’t a lot of opportunities around the country and particularly in California,” she said. “So for my friends in California, and California government: This is how you do it.”
The Rhode Island Film & Television Office uses motion picture production film tax credits to try to bring film crews to Rhode Island, and state officials said the “Ella McCay” production will create jobs, bolster tourism, and shine a big spotlight on the smallest state.
Get Rhode Map
A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.
Advertisement
“If you don’t want us to leave and go to places like Rhode Island, then you have to create tax incentives for the people in California, or we are going to come here, every time,” Curtis said.
Steven Feinberg, executive director of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, said filming will begin Monday, taking part mostly in Providence but in other parts of the state as well. Film crews will be here through March or April, he said.
Steven Feinberg, executive director of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, spoke at an event at the State House regarding a film being shot in Rhode Island titled “Ella McCay.”David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
The production will result in an estimated 300 full-time jobs and 500 part-time jobs, and the production will result in “spending million of dollars on the ground in Rhode Island,” Feinberg said.
The film credit is for 30 percent of state-certified production costs that can be directly attributed to activity within the state. The film or television production needs to be shot primarily in Rhode Island, meaning that 51 percent of principal photography must take place in the state. A minimum of $100,000 needs to be spent on the ground in Rhode Island.
Advertisement
In 2022, the Rhode Island Office of Revenue Analysis issued a report saying the state’s tax credit program fails to break even, its goals are “vague,” and data reporting requirements “lead to inconsistent and unreliable data on program performance.”
But Feinberg has strongly disagreed, saying the report contained “miscalculations” and “omissions.” He noted Industrial Economics, a company based in Cambridge, Mass., produced a report in 2022 saying every $1 in film tax credits generated $5.44 in economic activity, and that the benefit extended to nearly every city and town in the state.
During Thursday’s event in the State Room, Governor Daniel J. McKee emphasized the economic impact of the film.
“The whole strategy for us is putting people to work in good-paying jobs,” he said. “In this case, a number of the trades are going to be working on this project with you, and I think you will see second to none. I think you are going to be really, really pleased with what workers will be able to do.”
McKee, a Democrat who previously served as the state’s lieutenant governor, noted “Ella McCay” is a film about a lieutenant governor who becomes a governor.
Advertisement
The 20th Century Studios production tells the story of an “idealistic young politician” named Ella McCay, who will be played Mackey (known for her rolls in “Barbie” and “Death on the Nile.”) The title character juggles family issues and a challenging work life while preparing to take over for her mentor, California’s long-time governor, who will be played by Albert Brooks (known for “Broadcast News” and “Lost in America.”)
“This is a movie about ideas — politics, politicians, government,” Curtis said. “America is about ideas, and this is a movie about big ideas and people dreaming for the betterment for other people.”
Curtis said she’d given the cast and crew mugs emblazoned with a quote from the movie: “Government works best when citizens stay interested because, as has been said, if you don’t know what you want, you will probably get what someone else wants. Let’s get started.”
Brooks — the director, writer and producer whose credits include “Taxi,” “Terms of Endearment,” and “The Simpsons” — also spoke in the State Room, saying, “What I need is for this film to represent America in sort of the best sense possible. We looked at a lot of places, and I’m so glad we are here. We feel it every day. Everybody who goes out and is in this city just appreciates the graciousness of it and how much we’ve been welcomed.”
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, noted Rhode Island has also hosted film crews in Newport for the HBO series “The Gilded Age” and in Lincoln and Providence for the film “Hocus Pocus 2.” And he said he has backed the Rhode Island Film & Television Office and the film tax credits since he became speaker three years ago.
Advertisement
“Because it’s not just showing off our great state,” Shekarchi said. “The film industry is a revenue generator, and also people want to visit our state when they see the great locations on the big screen. It brings in more tourism dollars to our state.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Louis P. DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, also spoke, with Feinberg introducing him as “Taxi’s own Lou DiPalma.” DiPalma joked that he believes he is the tallest Lou DiPalma, surpassing Danny DeVito’s taxi dipatcher character, “Louie DiPalma.”
“This is a great day for Rhode Island,” DiPalma said. The film tax credit program has provided a clear “return on investment” over the years, he said, and it has helped to “put Rhode Island on the map.”
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is facing a costly and dangerous problem after thieves stole roughly 11 miles of electrical wire from highways across the state, leaving long stretches of road without lighting and drivers at risk.
RIDOT spokesperson Charles St. Martin said there have been at least 16 thefts in recent weeks, mostly in Providence, but also in Cranston, Johnston and Warwick. The agency first realized something was wrong after drivers began calling to report unusually dark sections of highway.
“Right now, about 16 sites or so around the Providence Metro area down into Cranston and Warwick and Johnston that we have different lengths of highway where the lights are out,” St. Martin said in an interview with NBC10.
Cars driving on the highway with no overhead lights. (WJAR)
Advertisement
St. Martin says thieves accessed underground electrical systems through manholes, cutting and removing large quantities of wire.
RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, speaking on WPRO Radio with NBC10’s Gene Valicenti, said the scale of the problem is staggering and growing.
“You would not believe how many locations throughout the state that we are experiencing the theft of our underground electric cables,” Alviti said. “They’re pulling it out and then selling it for scrap to make money.”
The thefts pose serious safety risks. St. Martin said the suspects are cutting into live electrical wires leaving drivers to navigate dark highways and roads.
The cost to taxpayers is also significant. According to RIDOT, the stolen wire alone carries a material cost of about $470,000, not including labor to reinstall it.
Advertisement
“When you just look at the amount of wire that we are talking about that we are missing now, it is about 11 miles worth of wire,” St. Martin said. “Just the material cost about $470,000.”
RIDOT says it will likely take several weeks to fully restore lighting along impacted highways, including I-195, I-295, Route 37, Route 10 and Route 6. The agency plans to install heavier, anti-theft manhole covers in the coming months and is working with state and local police to identify those responsible.
Drivers like Perry Cornell say the outages make already challenging roads even more dangerous.
“Dangerous,” Cornell said when asked how it feels driving through dark stretches of highway. “It’s unsafe.”
Lights off on the highway. (WJAR)
Advertisement
Cornell said the situation raises questions about whether more could have been done to prevent the thefts.
“Why wasn’t this stopped and why wasn’t there a preventative action taken by RIDOT to stop this from continuing to happen?” he asked.
RIDOT is asking the public to remain vigilant. Anyone who sees suspicious activity near highway manholes is urged to contact local police immediately.
Dolan was also ordered to pay a $100 fine, and has completed community service and a driving while impaired course, the records show. Dolan previously lost his license for three months.
“This plea was the culmination of two years of hard work and negotiations by both sides, resulting in a reasonable, fair, and equitable resolution which allows all concerned to move forward,” Michael J. Colucci, an attorney representing Dolan, said in a statement.
Get Rhode Island News Alerts
Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday.
Advertisement
Dolan was arrested and charged in September 2023 in Coventry, where he also allegedly threatened to shoot police officers.
A felony charge of threatening public officials was downgraded to the misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge on Wednesday, according to court records. A third charge of reckless driving and other offenses against public safety was dismissed.
Dolan resigned from the police department in November 2023 while the City of Pawtucket was attempting to fire him. He was acquitted by a jury earlier that year after he shot a teenager in 2021 while off-duty that summer outside a pizza restaurant in West Greenwich.
Dolan, who had an open container of beer in his truck at the time, had argued he pursued the teen and his friends after seeing them speeding on Route 95. The group of teens saw him coming at them in the parking lot of Wicked Good Pizza and tried to drive away, while Dolan claimed he wanted to have a “fatherly chat” and shot at them fearing he was going to be hit by their car.
The teen driver, Dominic Vincent, of West Greenwich, was shot in the upper arm.
Advertisement
In 2022, Dolan was also charged with domestic disorderly conduct and domestic vandalism after he allegedly grabbed his 10-year-old son by the neck and threw him outside, according to an affidavit by Coventry police supporting an arrest warrant.
Then, while the children were in the car with his wife, Dolan was accused of throwing a toy truck at the vehicle and breaking the windshield, according to the affidavit. The domestic case against Dolan was dismissed about a week after it was filed, per court records.
Material from previous Globe stories was used in this report. This story has been updated to include comment from Michael Colucci.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
Costco is nominating former US commerce secretary and Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo to serve on its board of directors, the Washington state-based retail giant announced last week.
“We are very pleased to nominate Secretary Raimondo for election to our Board,” Costco chairman Hamilton James said in a statement. “Her vast experience in global business, politics and international security at the highest level will add an important dimension to our current expertise. We look forward to her contributions.”
Raimondo served as Rhode Island governor from 2015 to 2021, when she was tapped to serve as the Biden administration’s secretary of commerce. Before entering politics in 2010, she worked in venture capital.
Her nomination will likely be voted on at the company’s next shareholders’ meeting, scheduled for Jan. 15.
Advertisement
The nomination comes days after the warehouse store announced it would sue the Trump administration over its tariff policy. Costco says the administration’s tariffs are unlawful, since they were imposed under a law that has historically been used to impose sanctions against other nations.
Earlier this year, Raimondo said she is considering running for president in 2028, becoming one of the first Democrats to do so. She also criticized the direction of the party and suggested it had ignored bread-and-butter economics issues in 2024 election loss to Donald Trump.
She added, though, that “if I thought somebody else would be better, or better able to win, I’d get behind that person in a minute.”
Costco does not currently operate any stores in Rhode Island. The nearest location is located on Interstate 95 in Sharon, Mass., according to the company’s website.
Last year, the company seemed to back away from a plan to build a warehouse at a shuttered correctional facility in Cranston, WPRI reported. Officials in Warwick and Smithfield have also expressed interest in bringing the box store to their communities.
Advertisement
Material from previous Globe coverage and Globe wire services was used.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.
