diff --git a/servo/connectors/prometheus.py b/servo/connectors/prometheus.py
index 388a5fa06..26368930e 100644
--- a/servo/connectors/prometheus.py
+++ b/servo/connectors/prometheus.py
@@ -773,31 +773,30 @@ class PrometheusConnector(servo.BaseConnector):
     @servo.on_event()
     async def startup(self) -> None:
         # Continuously publish a stream of metrics broadcasting every N seconds
+        # Should run idempotently
         streaming_interval = self.config.streaming_interval
         if streaming_interval is not None:
             logger = servo.logger.bind(component=f"{self.name} -> {CHANNEL}")
             logger.info(f"Streaming Prometheus metrics every {streaming_interval}")
-
-            @self.publish(CHANNEL, every=streaming_interval)
-            async def _publish_metrics(publisher: servo.pubsub.Publisher) -> None:
-                report = []
-                client = Client(base_url=self.config.base_url)
-                responses = await asyncio.gather(
-                    *list(map(client.query, self.config.metrics)),
-                    return_exceptions=True
-                )
-                for response in responses:
-                    if isinstance(response, Exception):
-                        logger.error(f"failed querying Prometheus for metrics: {response}")
-                        continue
-
-                    if response.data:
-                        # NOTE: Instant queries return a single vector
-                        timestamp, value = response.data[0].value
-                        report.append((response.metric.name, timestamp.isoformat(), value))
-
-                await publisher(servo.pubsub.Message(json=report))
-                logger.debug(f"Published {len(report)} metrics.")
+            if self.pubsub_exchange.get_channel(CHANNEL) is None:
+                @self.publish(CHANNEL, every=streaming_interval)
+                async def _publish_metrics(publisher: servo.pubsub.Publisher) -> None:
+                    report = []
+                    client = Client(base_url=self.config.base_url)
+                    responses = await asyncio.gather(
+                        *list(map(client.query, self.config.metrics)),
+                        return_exceptions=True
+                    )
+                    for response in responses:
+                        if isinstance(response, Exception):
+                            logger.error(f"failed querying Prometheus for metrics: {response}")
+                            continue
+                        if response.data:
+                            # NOTE: Instant queries return a single vector
+                            timestamp, value = response.data[0].value
+                            report.append((response.metric.name, timestamp.isoformat(), value))
+                    await publisher(servo.pubsub.Message(json=report))
+                    logger.debug(f"Published {len(report)} metrics.")
 
     @servo.on_event()
     async def check(
diff --git a/servo/runner.py b/servo/runner.py
index e78e688e0..863bcdbb9 100644
--- a/servo/runner.py
+++ b/servo/runner.py
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@ async def exec_command(self) -> servo.api.Status:
             raise ValueError(f"Unknown command '{cmd_response.command.value}'")
 
     # Main run loop for processing commands from the optimizer
+    # NOTE this is not an asyncio.loop, just a standard main() function
     async def main_loop(self) -> None:
         # FIXME: We have seen exceptions from using `with self.servo.current()` crossing contexts
         _set_current_servo(self.servo)
@@ -223,6 +224,8 @@ async def main_loop(self) -> None:
     def run_main_loop(self) -> None:
         if self._main_loop_task:
             self._main_loop_task.cancel()
+            loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
+            loop.create_task(self.servo.dispatch_event(servo.Events.startup))
 
         if self._diagnostics_loop_task:
             self._diagnostics_loop_task.cancel()
@@ -236,7 +239,9 @@ def _reraise_if_necessary(task: asyncio.Task) -> None:
                 self.logger.opt(exception=error).trace(f"Exception raised by task {task}")
                 raise error  # Ensure that we surface the error for handling
 
-        self._main_loop_task = asyncio.create_task(self.main_loop(), name=f"main loop for servo {self.optimizer.id}")
+        main_loop_name = f"main loop for servo {self.optimizer.id}"
+        self.logger.debug(f"creating new main loop: {main_loop_name}")
+        self._main_loop_task = asyncio.create_task(self.main_loop(), name=main_loop_name)
         self._main_loop_task.add_done_callback(_reraise_if_necessary)
 
         if not servo.current_servo().config.no_diagnostics:
@@ -316,6 +321,9 @@ class Config:
         arbitrary_types_allowed = True
 
     def __init__(self, assembly: servo.Assembly, **kwargs) -> None:
+        # Defining an __init__ explicitly within a pydantic.BaseModel as we've done here allows the
+        # <assembly> argument to be passed as a positional argument. It's entirely to facilitate the
+        # clarity of code in blocks that create AssemblyRunner objects.
         super().__init__(assembly=assembly, **kwargs)
 
     def _runner_for_servo(self, servo: servo.Servo) -> ServoRunner:
@@ -383,9 +391,12 @@ async def handle_progress_exception(progress: Dict[str, Any], error: Exception)
                     t for t in asyncio.all_tasks() if t is not asyncio.current_task()
                 ]
                 self.logger.info(f"Cancelling {len(tasks)} outstanding tasks")
+                [self.logger.trace(f"\t{task.get_name()}") for task in tasks]
                 [task.cancel() for task in tasks]
 
                 await asyncio.gather(*tasks, return_exceptions=True)
+                self.logger.trace("Cancelled tasks:")
+                [self.logger.trace(f"\t{task.get_name()} {'cancelled' if task.cancelled() else 'not cancelled'}") for task in tasks]
 
                 # Restart a fresh main loop
                 if poll:
@@ -410,9 +421,7 @@ async def handle_progress_exception(progress: Dict[str, Any], error: Exception)
                 servo_runner = ServoRunner(servo_, interactive=interactive)
                 loop.create_task(servo_runner.run(poll=poll))
                 self.runners.append(servo_runner)
-
             loop.run_forever()
-
         finally:
             loop.close()