Thursday morning headlines

Just a quick roundup this morning:
*Oops: Forgive the earlier typo (now corrected) - hed should be Time

Time lays of 250: No word yet on local bureaus, but the cuts include People magazine shutting down its offices in Chicago, Washington and Miami. Time, the flagship magazine, was expected to lose 70 people. NYT

Rent hikes slowing: It's often what happens when housing prices start to fall. The average rent in L.A. County last year was $1,614, up 7.8 percent from 2005. But the occupancy rate fell slightly. LAT

HP plea bargain?: California prospecutors have offered Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Patricia Dunn and four other defendants a bargain to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge, the San Jose Mercury News is reporting. But the feds are still investigating, so there might not be that much incentive to cut a deal.

Universal raid: Christopher Meledandri, who oversaw the successful “Ice Age” movies as head of 20th Century Fox Animation, has been hired by Universal to set up a family-oriented production house - eventually to be financed by outside investors. Variety

Eisner deals: The former Disney CEO is investing in an online channel devoted to scouting talent for United Talent Agency (what, "American Idol" isn't good enough?). NY Post reports that the unusual channel will debut next month on the Veoh Web site.

MySpace is sued: Four familes have filed separate suits in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that their underage daughters were sexually abused by adults they met on the site. The suits allege negligence, recklessness, fraud and negligent misrepresentation by the companies. No immediate word from the Bev Hills-based social networking site. AP