Berkshire Benchmarks Releases State of the County Update

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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. 

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Force 16U Defends Home Field with Tourney Title

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Berkshire Force 16U travel softball team Sunday rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull away for an 8-4 win in the championship game of their Battle of the Berkshires tournament at the Doyle Complex.
 
Ava McMahon struck out six and gave up just one run after the first inning as the Force completed a 3-0 run through the playoffs after going 1-2 in pool play.
 
Mollie Crawford, Amelia Polidoro and McMahon each drove in a run in the late rally that finally gave McMahon a little bit of breathing room.
 
The Force jumped on top early with three runs in the top of the first, but the Nor’Easters out of New Hampshire’s Lakes Region responded right away, tying the game.
 
In the second, Amaya Alger (3-for-3) singled, moved up on Mackenzie Biros’ sacrifice bunt and scored on a combination stolen base/errant throw to give the Force a 4-3 lead it never relinquished.
 
But Berkshire missed chances to add to that lead in the third, fourth and fifth, leaving runners in scoring positions in each inning.
 
Meanwhile, McMahon was brilliant in the circle after a rough first inning, striking out six, walking just one and allowing three earned runs in a complete-game effort.
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