Research shows that reading to your baby, even preemies in the NICU, is essential to healthy brain development and reading skills.

MASCO member Brigham and Women's Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine has started a program in its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to ensure their littlest patients are read to every single day.

Arina Jean-Chaplin from Boston Children's Hospital recently shared her commute to the LMA with the City of Boston's Chief of Streets Chris Osgood.

See her daily commute here:  http://tiny.cc/nnd94x

Thank you Arina for participating in this great series and for all your hard work you do on behalf of Boston Children's Hospital Commuter Services Office!

The LMA-wide Emergency Preparedness and Security Committees meet regularly to share information, assess vulnerabilities in the area and stay prepared for whatever may occur. 

This month's combined meeting will focus on a Boston Area Threat Assessment and Anti-Terrorism and Cyber Security.

With more than 110,000 people hustling and bustling through the LMA on any given weekday, the need for clear street signs and well-defined crosswalks is more important than ever.

This summer MASCO partnered with Brigham and Women's Hospital to improve the busy intersection at Francis and Binney Streets. With heavy pedestrian volume at the Service Center garage and significant shuttle traffic at the intersection, 4-way STOP signs were installed as well as "STOP AHEAD" street signs and "STOP" street markings. 

After days of rain and gale force winds, parts of the Longwood Medical Area are under water, cellular service is non-existent, hospitals are running on generators and supplies are at an all-time low. College dormitories have been evacuated and the MBTA is not running.

Next week, Mass Art will host "Above the Fold" - the third biennial juried alumni exhibition.

Did you know that Massachusetts is the fourth friendliest state to bikes in all of the US?

See rankings here.

Today, the first of MASCO's seven new cut vans began transporting commuters on the M6 shuttle.

By the end of the month, the remaining six vans will be in service, replacing an older fleet of vans. 

"We are all very pleased that by the end of May, MASCO's commitment to replace our entire shuttle fleet, thirty buses and 7 cut vans, will be complete. We now operate a brand new fleet of more energy efficient, comfortable and reliable shuttles for our 12,000+ daily commuters," said P.J. Cappadona, MASCO's Vice-President for Operations. 

MASCO is pleased to offer free Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes to women working at member institutions in the LMA.

Learn realistic self-defense tactics, including hands-on defense training as well as risk reduction and risk avoidance techniques. This nationally acclaimed program has successfully trained over 250,000 women.

This is a four-class program and students should attend all four classes, as follows:

MASCO's Call Center never closes. It's 24/7, rain, shine or SNOW.

So when Blizzard Juno blew into town, keeping staffing levels up was a priority.