Identity Politics

Well, some people are worried that if political entities end that identity ends there as well. Tom Gajewski Sr., county commissioner of Berks County, is worried that marketing of Reading and its suburbs as 'Greater Reading' could hurt the identity of the surrounding areas. I wonder why he believes this when there is NO identity of Berks County outside of its borders that doesn't involved the city itself. People know about the outlets, Daniel Boone Homestead, and the city itself. That's about it. The Pagoda is the most recognizable landmark, from what I've gathered. Gajewski's complaint comes right around the same time that the Reading Eagle editorial board continues its mantra about municipality cooperation/amalgamation. It's nothing but a good idea, to save duplicating (or triplicating) services, which would make them more efficient and also less costly. Pooling tax bases would also allow government to run smoother. I would even go as far as to recommend that West Reading and Wyomissing merge with Reading itself to help boost its tax base and also create a Penn Street/Penn Ave corridor that could be developed by one single entity. This, however, is very VERY unlikely.