Photo by Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie.

Good morning, Washington. If you’re anything like this editor, you likely spent the evening glued to coverage from English media sources depicting the carnage currently plaguing London and apparently spreading across the country. Although most of the Internet got taken by a fake photo of the London Eye on fire, the anger and destruction that is actually occurring in the now-fatal uprising is just as eye-popping.

Pages Succumb To Portable Document Format: The tradition of having teenagers carry messages between legislators inside the halls of the House of Representatives will be killed off, a cost-cutting measure that will save the federal government $5 million a year. Considering most people in Washington have greater computer power in their breast pockets than was needed to fly a man to the moon in 1969, it’s probably time. (Though we do admire historian Raymond W. Smock’s contention that individuals who work for free and wait for assignments in a place so lovingly called the “page cage” somehow hold the keys to unlocking the civility of modern political discourse.) But never fret, teenagers — you’ll still be able to carry those hefty bills in the Senate.

Angry Letters: Upset with what he called “erroneous statements made in writing that could give District residents an incorrect impression” about why he pocket vetoed a budget bill, Mayor Vince Gray fired back at Council Chair Kwame Brown and Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh in a letter. In short, the Mayor said that he’s always been about maintaining the city’s reserve fund, is concerned about the city’s bond rating and calls the Council erratic, even stating that he met with Brown about the potential for a pocket veto for three hours last Tuesday.

Barricade Situation in Adams Morgan: Several streets were taped off and a large police presence was present on the scene of a barricade situation inside a residence at 1631 Euclid St NW last night. Details about why the individual would not emerge from the residence were not immediately available, but police did say that there were not hostages or weapons involved.

Briefly Noted: Will 2011 data show continued declines in erasures at D.C. schools?…Speaking of schools, Mary Cheh wants to open a new middle school in Ward 3…Dead body found on 1100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW near Old Post Office Pavilion…District to subsidize 20 percent of affordable housing cost of new development at 2 M Street NE…The story of Hammel’s restaurant, a long-lost treasure of the Prohibition era…D.C. Inspector General confirms Post report on improper spending of city funds through HIV/AIDS nonprofit…”The bad news is that, while there might be a great amount of scrutiny of our elected officials, there are many others in trusted government positions who are ready and willing to abuse that trust.”…Oh my.

This Day in DCist: Last year, a Ward 8 ANC candidate resorted to racial slurs, while we were surprised to learn that WMATA’s original charter contained no mention of rider safety.