Text Box: AROUND TOWN Text Box: Dan Macy was up at 5:50 a.m. the other morning, sending on valuable information to Glen Echo residents who have signed up for the town’s Yahoo Group about options for Pepco’s coming residential rate increase. If you have not already signed up for this group and want to join, send an email to Dan at Dan@Macy.com. Only residents of Glen Echo can belong. It is a wonderful opportunity to communicate with townspeople and to learn of events and offers that didn’t make it into The Echo… Who knew? One of the 20 most eligible bachelors in the Washington area lives right here in Glen Echo. According to Washingtonian, he is Tom Manatos, 26, a resident of Bryn Mawr Ave. and adviser to House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. A graduate of Whitman High School, he told the magazine that his dream date would be “a Redskins game with a girl who would enjoy it as much as I would.” The Bannockburn community is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its founding on June 23-25 The event will include a children’s carnival, ice-cream social, founder’s reminiscences, panoramic photo, and dinner-dance… The Glen Echo Park May 20th gala, “A Taste of Glen Echo,” drew 300 persons and raised $82,700 at the park, according to the Bannockburn Newsletter. Among those honored at the event were Irene Hurley, who has been selling tickets at the Dentzel carousel since 1980. The 84-year-old Hurley is joined in running the carousel by her son, Max, who operates it and has written music for its pipe organ. A female seal point Siamese cat, was found near Lock 6 and taken to the shelter of the Montgomery County Humane Society on June 3. She can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/gjsfg Text Box: BUDGET (FROM PAGE 3) Text Box: One of the smaller items in the budget -- $2,700 for The Echo, a decrease from $2,900 for the current fiscal year -- produced the most discussion. Councilmember Steve Matney said that including $1,350 in income from advertising and subscriptions, along with the $2,700 expense item, implies that The Echo is a "Town service" rather than an independent publication. "We’re doing the books for it, which does not make it independent," he said. "Personally, I think there should be a bigger separation." For one thing, any lawsuits arising from articles in The Echo incur a liability for the Town, he said. Councilmember Dan Macy agreed with him. Mayor Beers said that requiring The Echo's Editor, Carlotta Anderson, to carry this additional burden would make her job more difficult, and "my guess is that we would be sued anyway, even if we move it from one line to [another]". As for independence, "we ask it to publish things," she said. "Sometimes [Councilwoman] Nancy [Long] or I go over articles to make sure they're accurate. Carlotta emails me. I'm glad she does, sometimes, because some of the things that come out, first crack, I don't recognize the same description of the activity." "Given her current status of responsibility of the Editor, I think the town's liability is relatively limited," said Councilmember Macy. "If we had a rogue Editor, I think we'd have a much more difficult situation, and at that point I could see the Town cutting off its support entirely... If it raises the issue of liability to the Town, the Town needs to take action to protect itself." Mayor Beers said she believed such liability was covered by the Town's liability insurance. "If it isn't, we can get a rider," she said. "I don't think we're ever going to get away from this liability unless we totally divorce ourselves from The Echo, which nobody really wants to do," she said.