A ROUNDUP OF SAN FERNANDO VALLEY NEWS United Online Reconsiders Deal Westlake Village-based United Online Inc., parent company of NetZero Inc. and Juno Online Inc., says its reevaluating a deal with AOL Time Warner Inc. to provide high speed access over its cable network. United Online CEO Mark Goldston said his company is in no hurry to get into the high speed access service under the deal which Juno made with AOL Time Warner before it was acquired by Netzero, allows the company to provide high speed Internet access. Goldston said he wants to be sure that the deal will translate into more paying subscribers for the company, which has switched its emphasis from a free to a subscriber-based service. Federal regulators had told AOL Time Warner that it had to offer three rival Internet service providers high-speed access over its cable lines in order to offer AOL on the system. THQ to Acquire Rainbow Studios Calabasas-based THQ Inc. has greed to acquire Rainbow Studios, video game maker based in Phoenix. As part of the deal, THQ will issue about 1 million shares of common stock to Rainbow shareholders, valued at $57.6 million. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed. THQ said the acquisition will improve its ability to create video games for the next generation of console systems such as Nintendo Co.’s GameCube, Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 2. Rainbow specializes in creating games using live action images mixed with computer generated graphics for various gaming platforms. Disney Lays Off 125 Online Staffers Walt Disney Internet Group has shutdown its MrShowbiz site and laid off 125 people as part of its effort to streamline operations, company officials said. The move marks the second time in a year the Walt Disney Co. has reduced the ranks of its Internet unit. The first was in January when 535 people were laid off at Go.com. Dole Posts Third Quarter Loss Westlake Village-based Dole Food Co., the country’s largest fruit and vegetable producer, saw its third quarter loss grow from the same period last year. Dole’s loss increased to $94.8 million from $7.4 million during the same quarter in 2000. Revenue also dropped to $1.33 billion from $1.34 billion. Rocketdyne Facility Now Historic Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory, birthplace of the Saturn V rocket that helped take astronauts to the moon, has been designated a national historic site by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The 2,800-acre facility was built in 1950 and helped develop and test rocket engines that powered nearly every space program, including Apollo and the Space Shuttle. Disney Acquires Baby Einstein Co. Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. has acquired Colorado-based children’s video and toy maker Baby Einstein Co. The privately held company manufactures videotapes, DVDs and CDs allowing children to experience art, music, poetry and science, through its “Baby Einstein” and “Baby Mozart” videos. Universal Music Helps Set Up Fund Universal Music Group has donated $2 million to the Rhythm & Blues Foundation for the establishment of the Motown/Universal Group Fund to aid its former artists. Zach Horowitz, Universal’s president and COO, said the fund will aid needy artists who had previously been affiliated with Universal’s many labels, including Motown Records. Quintek Spins Off Subsidiary Camarillo-based biotech firm Quintek Technologies Inc. has agreed to spin off its PanaMed subsidiary into a separate and independent company. Quintek said the new company will focus on distributing a proprietary line of therapeutics for the treatment of AIDS and HIV infection in third world countries.