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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Pittsfield's Ward 2 Councilor Petitions to Explore Police Station at Morningside

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham wants the city to explore turning Morningside Community School, which will not reopen in the fall, into a police station. 

He announced on social media that he will file a petition requesting the city to study converting the Morningside Community School building into a new Pittsfield Police Department headquarters and community resource hub.

"Morningside families deserve to feel comfortable and safe in their neighborhood. Converting the building into a police headquarters at 100 Burbank Street could put an integrated, visible public safety presence in the heart of a neighborhood that has asked for an end to this pattern of violence, he wrote. 

"Combined with youth programming, violence prevention resources, and community services in the same building, this is the kind of structural change that Morningside needs. The building must not be allowed to sit vacant deteriorating. It's time to use it to make Morningside safer. 

Cunningham's petition, which he posted, asks that Pittsfield conduct a feasibility study on the proposal, considering at minimum, considering the building's physical condition and cost of necessary rehabilitation, an estimated cost of relocating the Pittsfield Police Department, opportunities for the co-location of community services, available funding mechanisms to offset costs, and a recommended timeline. 

The pattern of violence references a deadly shooting near Morningside last week. 

Police are seeking an "armed and dangerous suspect," identified as Terry Martizna, for the murder of 29-year-old Pittsfield resident Justin Crawford.

Crawford was one of two individuals who were shot on Thursday, June 18, near the intersection of Pleasure Avenue and Tyler Street in Pittsfield. The second person, who has not been identified, was treated for a non-life-threatening injury at Berkshire Medical Center.

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