Watch the entire Fall 2009 Arizona Cat's Eye 15-minute update by clicking on "Read More."

A new state law is making it illegal to sell pets on roadsides. Anyone caught selling animals in public areas, such as medians, parks, and roadways is subject to a $50 fine per animal.

Marsh Meyers, the director of community outreach for the Humane Society of Southern Arizona says the animal can be as large as a horse, or as small as a hamster.

The law was designed to prevent people from purchasing animals that might have health problems.

The Humane Society receives about 100 calls a month from people who don’t know how to care for their sick animals. And with no way to get in touch with the previous owner, the new owners are left with large vet bills.

The city of Tucson and Pima County work together to remove graffiti, but recent budget cuts have hampered their efforts.

Pima County slashed its graffiti removal budget from $250,000 to $125,000, and Pima County Supervisor Ann Day says this is a problem.

“Graffiti is a daily in-your-face attack,” said Day. “I’m very concerned that our county administrator has already cut the graffiti department budget in half.”

The battle to curtail graffiti is a daunting task, one that Graffiti Protective Coating’s David Caceres has been fighting for a few years.

“It was real bad when we first came here about three years ago,” said Caceres. “It was real bad, and for us to bring the city up to this level right now is pretty good.”

Tucson is notorious for being one of the top cities for auto theft rates in the United States, but in recent years, auto theft rates have decreased dramatically.

In Tucson, auto thefts have dropped 14 percent since 2007 and 21 percent since 2006 and figures from the FBI show that the number of auto thefts is decreasing across the country as well.

Officer Chuck Rydzak of the Tucson Police Department believes that police efforts are some of the causes for the drop in auto thefts.

“One of them is the public awareness; going through the media and getting the message out to the public in ways to protect their vehicle,” he said. “Knowing which vehicles are highest on the lists that are quite normally stolen.”

At the top of that list is the Honda Accord which is followed by the Dodge Ram 1500. Typically, the older model vehicles are the most targeted because they lack advanced anti-theft technology.

“I rely on an alarm and then I also have an anti-theft system on my vehicle,” said Lisa MacHue. “If you don’t have the little mechanism when you try to start the car, it won’t start with just the key.”

Rydzak attributes the technology to what is making it difficult for car thieves to steal a vehicle.

The struggling economy isn’t only affecting businesses; it also has a big affect on public safety departments.

According to Mike McKendrick, Assistant Chief of Operations for the Tucson Fire Department, TFD lost roughly $5 million last year due to budget cuts.

This year, Tucson’s public safety departments are expected to be cut another $40 million, a portion of that will be taken from the fire department.

The new legal definition of domestic violence in Arizona has been extended to include dating couples and those who have had sex, even just once.

Parts of the law have raised questions among some in the legal and anti-violence communities.

Originally limited to people who live together, are married or share children, legislators re-wrote the law to allow police and courts to determine what constitutes a dating relationship and how to proceed in charging when people report violent behavior to police.

“Dating relationships and people who are in them have the same dynamics, unfortunately, of domestic violence that involve other relationships,” said Kathleen Mayer, the legislative liaison for the Pima County Attorney’s Office.

Mayer testified in favor of the new law before the Arizona State Legislature in May 2008.

The legislature passed S.B. 1088, “Kaity’s Law”, after 17-year-old Kaity Sudberry of Phoenix was murdered by her boyfriend in January 2008 as she walked home from school.

Sudberry’s family was unable to get protective orders to keep then 17-year-old Daniel Byrd legally at bay, because the two were not in what was then considered a domestic relationship.

Bobbie Sudberry, Kaity’s mother, said in a phone interview Tuesday that college students should be aware of the laws and penalties because they represent the vast majority of the dating population.

Watch the entire Spring 2009 Arizona Cat's Eye broadcast by clicking on "Read More."

Arizona’s state budget deficit has greatly impacted funding for public schools and higher education.

Pima community college recently had another 7 percent reduced from their budget making a 26 percent total budget loss in twelve months.

Pima County’s Rillito Race Track may close its doors for good after this season, leaving county residents with only a legacy.

The photo finish, quarter horse racing on a straight track, and the Arizona Quarter Racing Association were all established at Rillito, and supporters of the track believe tearing it down will hurt a piece of Tucson history.