Letter: Abortion Is Health Care

To the Editor:

Seventy percent of Americans support safe and legal abortions. Abortion is health care, and is a basic human right that has been protected by Roe for the past 50 years. Yet this right has been rescinded by six radical, ultraconservative Supreme Court judges, three of whom were appointed by a president who failed to win the popular vote.

Maybe that 70 percent got too complacent and took this right for granted. But the lesson is learned: No constitutional right is safe any longer. Many of us are outraged by the court's decision that does not even allow for abortion in cases of rape or incest.

But if we want our rights restored, outrage alone is not enough. We must do all we can to mobilize the vote for pro-choice Democratic candidates this November and in November of 2024 to keep Democrats in control of Congress and ensure that abortion rights are protected. If Republicans take back Congress in November, we face the dire prospect that they will enact a federal ban on abortion, criminalizing the procedure nationwide, and that other reproductive rights, such as access to contraception and the right to marry whom we choose, will be under attack.

In the meantime, if you want to join the fight, visit the Berkshire Brigades Facebook page.

Louise Farkas
Pittsfield, Mass.

Farkas is a member of the Berkshire Brigades steering committee. 

North Street Restaurant Serving Authentic Afro-Caribbean Cuisine

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:41AM / Friday, February 13, 2026

Andre Lynch has transformed the former Lulu's on North Street into a bright and sunny space to serve his Caribbean cuisine.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Dre's Global Kitchen is bringing the flavors of the Caribbean to North Street starting this weekend.

 

The new restaurant at 137 North St. is holding its grand opening on Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. 

 

Owner and chef André Lynch said the cuisine is straight from his mom's cooking.

 

Deborah Burchell, a well-known chef and instructor in New York, grew up in Trinidad and learned to cook when she was little. Lynch has taken her recipes and also made his own modifications to her cookbook.

 

"Thirteen of us grew up in a household eating home-cooked Trinidadian meals every single day in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, mostly, which is a very thick West Indian or Caribbean community," he said.

 

Once he left New York, he realized not many other places share the influence of his mom's cooking.

 

"Leaving New York, Brooklyn, really opened our eyes to how much Caribbean influence was not in other places."