• On June 17, the Seattle City Council gave preliminary approval to legislation that would establish a citywide property tax for publicly funding council races, beginning in 2015. Residents are expected to vote on the referendum this November. If approved, the measure would grant up to $140,000 in public financing during the primary election (and up to $250,000 total). To qualify, candidates would need to collect 600 donations of $50 or less from Seattle residents.

• There's just one problem: Seattle Districts Now, the initiative to turn seven of Seattle's nine city council seats into positions elected by districts, is also headed for the November ballot. If both measures pass, the public-campaign-financing legislation will be rendered mostly useless because it applies only to the two citywide council races left—the seven district races wouldn't benefit from any public financing. Council members had a chance to fix the legislation's flaw on Monday via amendment, proposed by progressive council members Nick Licata and Mike O'Brien, but the council rejected it. Why should lawmakers fix flaws in legislation when they can simply overlook them? "I don't know whether this really makes sense," said befuddled Council Member Richard Conlin.

• In goat news: The city has hired—in a grand civic tradition—a company called Rent-a-Ruminant that promises "to get the job done without noisy machinery." The goat lessor has stationed 120 of the creatures under the Alaskan Way Viaduct to eat the "delicious overgrowth," according to parks department officials. Now the city needs to rent some animals that can silently replace leaf blowers.

• Mayor Mike McGinn confirms that he's been in talks with the National Hockey League about transferring a team to Seattle. The Phoenix Coyotes could move into KeyArena in time for the 2013–204 season, according to a report that first surfaced on the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has reportedly given the Glendale City Council a July 2 deadline to cut a $15-million-a-year arena subsidy deal, or he'll sell the team to investors looking to move it to Seattle. "We believe we can support an NHL team as a tenant at KeyArena," said McGinn.

• Turncoat senate majority leader Rodney Tom (who was elected as a Democrat but switched teams to lead a Republican majority in Olympia) has confidently predicted that "there will be no government shutdown," reports the Associated Press. How can he be so sure of a budget deal before the end of the current biennium on June 30? The buzz among Olympia lobbyists is that a large contingent of his Majority Coalition Caucus, led by Senator Don Benton (R-Vancouver), is scheduled to leave on a foreign junket before July 1. recommended