Berkshire Benchmarks Releases State of the County Update

Print Story | Email Story
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Benchmarks data team recently released a State of the County Update for 2023. 
 
This brief report builds on the Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County Report published in May 2022 and highlights notable changes in regional indicators over the past year. The berkshirebenchmarks.org website has also been updated to reflect the most current available data. 
 
The purpose of the Benchmarks initiative and report is to highlight the region's successes and challenges.
 
The 2022 Berkshire Benchmarks State of the County report provided a comprehensive overview of our region's performance across eight sectors: Economy, Education, Environment, Government, Health, Housing, Social Environment, and Transportation.  
 
In the future, the Berkshire Benchmarks team will continue to monitor these and other indicators to aid with the regional understanding of changes in these sectors and whether the work happening throughout the region is having the intended impact. 
 
Berkshire Benchmarks is a collaborative initiative managed through Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC). Our sources are publicly available data, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey, various Massachusetts data sets, and periodic surveys of Berkshire County residents. 
 
Berkshire Benchmarks aims to work with the community to understand priorities and help inform the region on how we are doing and if we are improving. Berkshire Benchmarks enhances the region's access to quality data and analysis. 

Tags: BRPC,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Demonstrators in Park Square Urge Voting; Polls Close at 8 p.m.

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Community members stood in Park Square on midterm election day urging everyone to use their voices at the polls. 

The standout was organized by Indivisible Pittsfield, and accompanied by a demonstration the previous day and another on election day at the Woodlawn Avenue rotary. 

"It's very important to vote, especially historically. Women didn't always have the vote. Minorities didn't always have the vote, so it's so incredibly important for everybody to go out and vote," said Rose Fiscella, with Indivisible Pittsfield. 

"Not just men, not just women, not just minorities. Everybody. No matter who you want to vote for — red, blue, purple — anybody." 

As a 20-year-old, Fiscella emphasized the importance of young people exercising their civic duty. Her sign read "Don't let America's 250th be our last." 

iBerkshires spoke to attendees at the beginning of the rally in downtown Pittsfield, down the street from polling locations at the Berkshire Athenaeum and Providence Court. 

"To me it feels more important than ever to vote and vote blue specifically," said  Lois Prew. 

"I'm encouraged that people are turning out in high numbers to vote. I feel like there's a blue wave going on, so I'm encouraged by that."

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories