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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Hinsdale Select Board Comes to Heated Ending

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
HINSDALE, Mass. — A Select Board meeting came to an abrupt end after a public comment period was cut short following a heated exchange between a board member and the audience. 
 
The board's agenda items on Sept. 9, most notably to "discuss and vote" on an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by iBerkshires and the "discussion and possible action regarding the appointment of David Tarjick" as a police officer were expected to create some discussion.
 
The town has faced criticism from community members since the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Biagio Kauvil last January. 
 
The Wednesday meeting was filmed and uploaded to YouTube by Julia Kurek, a nursing student and mental health advocate.  
 
Kurek, who is not a Hinsdale resident, has been working to create an open letter with policy recommendations alongside several Hinsdale community members, particularly with Kauvil's family, in addition to public safety professionals. 
 
At the end of the meeting, when the board called for public comment, Kurek requested to speak and said she had attended Daigle Law Group's community information session on its organizational analysis of the Police Department.
 
She urged the board to take the community's concerns and recommendations on policy reform seriously, arguing that the town could face challenges recruiting new personnel unless officials begin implementing meaningful changes and taking initiative on reform.
 
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