This Week In Sanity: 'WEKA's Quick Rise'
I first wrote about WEKA last year when the for-profit business's name appeared in a September APOC complaint. I soon discovered that WEKA owners Todd and Crystal Herring and through their various businesses, donated thousands of dollars to David Bronson's mayoral campaign and the pro-Bronson Independent Expenditure (IE) group Open for Business Bronson chaired by former Save Anchorage moderator Paul Berger. The IE would later be renamed Open for Business Anchorage.
On September 20, 2021, the state granted WEKA Medical a business license, which is just a bit of interesting information because it was just one week prior, on September 13, that —
WEKA owner and Save Anchorage member (because, of course, she is) Crystal Herring wrote a lengthy post supporting monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment noting that the medical branch of WEKA was providing the treatment. Herring also explained in her post that she had become quite sick with COVID-19, so much so that she appeared uncertain whether she would recover. After being treated with mAb's, Herring explained that her health improved.
"Within 24 hours, I had started to show improvements when nothing else helped…and believe me, we were trying EVERYTHING else, even the controversial stuff."
Given this 2020 Facebook post made to her husband's Facebook account, I'm inclined to believe her!
Julie Brophy, a Save Anchorage moderator, and treasurer of the group seeking to recall Anchorage Assemblyman Felix Rivera, made sure that Herring's post would be seen by members of the group because, as we all know, sharing is caring.
Even Save Anchorage's cheerleader, Assemblyperson Jamie Allard, got in on the sharing action!
On September 23 last year, I opined that Mayor Bronson's adoration for mAb's smelled grifty if only because he frequently touted the antibody treatment option over the preventative COVID-19 vaccine.
Five days later, on September 28, I noted that pro-Bronson megadonor WEKA had gone on a hiring spree after learning that the company had posted job opportunities to Indeed. WEKA was looking to hire roughly 20+ full and part-time COVID screening/testing and swab staff — offering to pay individuals $18-$20 an hour.
Then seven days later, on October 5, 2021, Mayor Bronson announced that megadonor WEKA was standing up a new center to provide vaccinations, testing and monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatments in the Golden Lion Hotel, a Municipality of Anchorage-owned property Mayor Bronson said he would sell on day one after becoming mayor!
I always found it interesting that Mayor Bronson gave WEKA six paragraphs in his October 5 Facebook post, with Fairweather (who provided mAbs for free) only mentioned in passing at the end.
Alaska State Senator Lora Reinbold, a COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theorist, and Bronson ally, was more than happy to share the word about WEKA (not the facility at Fairweather) and shared Mayor Bronson's October 5 post all around Facebook — even to the Alaskans Against 5G "death tower" Radiation page where it's unclear if the post made any difference in the lives of Info Wars enthusiasts.
Save Anchorage member Reinbold also made sure to get Mayor Bronson's Facebook post into Save Anchorage because she's a generous spirit. She and other right-wingers might have been concerned about their voter base dying off — a thought not outside the realm of possibility since Mayor Bronson only won last year's mayoral election by roughly 1,000 votes.
Then, on March 14, Assembly Chair LaFrance, acting on questions presented to her by a concerned member of the public who believes the Bronson Administration may have paid some or all of the utilities during the months that WEKA was operating its for-profit business in the former Golden Lion Hotel, asked the Bronson Administration for details about the city's lease or use agreement that permitted WEKA to take up residence in the Golden Lion.
On March 28, I noted that Municipal Manager Amy Demboski didn't appear to want to give up the document and speculated that maybe she was clinging to it ahead of election day. In that same piece, I also revealed reporting by EndPoint News which documented that a WEKA "nurse" had administered the drug Evusheld by IV infusion instead of by two shots in the hip in a patient — an act that drew a rebuke from Anchorage resident Scott Selman's transplant team. An AstraZeneca representative expressed "alarm" that WEKA provided the drug via IV and submitted Selman's case to the medical affairs team for examination.
On March 29, I detailed an email sent to Mayor Bronson, the Anchorage Assembly, and the Anchorage Daily News alleging that WEKA was refusing to provide antibody treatment to uninsured individuals who could not afford to pay WEKA's $550 upfront treatment fee.
On March 31, I detailed that WEKA's former Operations Supervisor had resigned from his position with the company "for my own personal beliefs and to stay in line with my own personal ethics and views on patient care and employee treatment."
In that same piece, I also detailed the alleged experience an Anchorage physician said they had with WEKA earlier this year.
I think Matt Acuña Buxton summarized the last two weeks pretty well:
"If you had concerns about a company that seemed to be primarily focused on selling holsters and providing armed security getting involved in administering medical treatments, then it sure sounds like you had something to be concerned about."
Now that you're all caught up (for now) on WEKA, make sure you get your Municipal Ballot turned in because having Bronson's cronies make it onto the Anchorage Assembly isn't an option, especially if you want any semblance of accountability from this off the rails dishonest administration.
If there's one thing we've learned about Bronson since he became mayor, it's that following the money will take you wherever you want to go.
