For Those Keeping Score At Home …

The House State Affairs Committee has revived a grade school student’s bill to designate the Idaho giant salamander as the state amphibian. The same committee had voted 10-6 in late January to block the bill, citing concerns about federal overreach. But the committee pulled an about-face Wednesday by voting to send it to the House floor for a full vote. Chairman Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, said if lawmakers have time to talk about diapers, then they have time to talk about salamanders. A resolution on Diaper Need Awareness Week passed the House on Tuesday. Reps. Don Cheatham, R-Post Falls; Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d’Alene; and Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, all sit on the State Affairs Committee and voted against hearing the bill in January/ AP, Coeur d’Alene Press . More here . (Eye on Boise photo: Illah Hickman, the teen-ager who has been pushing for official designation of the giant salamander for years)

Question: Have you seen a giant salamander in Idaho?