HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Former University of Hawaii sailor Daniela Moroz is preparing to compete in her first Olympic Games in Paris.

The 23-year-old will be competing in kiteboarding — also known as kitesurfing — in its Olympic debut.

“It’s super exciting,” Moroz said.

“You just dream about it for so long. Growing up I always dreamed about going to the [Olympic] Games, as any young athlete does. When the possibility came around, I was ‘yeah, I just gotta go for it.’”

Moroz, who is six-time Formula Kite World Champion and a four-time U.S. Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year — is now looking to add Olympic medalist to her impressive resume.

The California native sailed two seasons for the Rainbow Wahine. Moroz’s athletic background is in kiting, meaning she didn’t have much experience with boat sailing prior to UH.

However, no challenge is too small for Moroz as she went on to make the UH team and competed in several competitions for the ‘Bows.

“The sailing team was so much fun,” Moroz said. “It was just one of those things where you start school in a new place, and you immediately have 15 best friends because you just bond over sailing.”

Following Paris, Moroz said she will return to UH to complete her marketing degree.

“Daniela is a very happy, likeable person and was a very positive influence on all of us during the time she spent with the UH Sailing team. She is driven to succeed, and we are all extremely excited to watch her bring home a medal for all of us and our country,” said UH Sailing Coach Andy Johnson.

Kiteboarders require the balance of a surfer, while simultaneously traveling at a similar speed as seen in windsurfing. Competitors must navigate through a buoy-marked course that requires both tactical and quick decision-making, optimizing their equipment to maximize both speed and efficiency.

Moroz, with her eyes set on gold, is one of 20 women competing for a medal. Kiteboarding is one of the 10 sailing events at the Games and kicks off Aug. 4 at the Marseille Marina.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

Quick: Who was the emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire while Beethoven was composing his masterpieces? Who ruled Germany while J.S. Bach was creating his?

If you don’t know, don’t worry. Most people don’t. But as history unfolds before our eyes, there seems an excessive emphasis upon governments and politics being the defining elements of an era, when the stuff that stands the test of time is more likely to be what our artists are creating.

I found myself reflecting upon this while attending vocal octet Cantus’ latest program, “The Queen’s Songbook,” which is devoted almost entirely to the music of a monarch. That would be Queen Lili’uokalani, the last queen of Hawaii, who ruled that archipelago kingdom from 1891 to 1893 before being deposed by American interests, the U.S. government eventually annexing the islands.

But unlike those members of European aristocracy who commissioned work from our now legendary composers, Queen Lili’uokalani was something of a D.I.Y. artist. Trained in the European musical tradition and the choral stylings of Christian churches, she was a composer from an early age who became history’s most important voice in committing the musical traditions of Hawaii to posterity, framing them in her own distinctive style.

This week, Cantus is spending four nights in St. Paul and Minneapolis applying their harmonies to the creations of the queen. The brainchild of baritone and Oahu product Jeremy Wong, “The Queen’s Songbook” is a portrait of both a musical genre all its own and the life of a woman deeply in love with her land, as her lyrics invariably suggest. Both enlightening and as refreshing as the ocean breezes and floral fragrances her songs frequently celebrate, it’s a richly rewarding combination of history lesson, cultural immersion and sonic vacation.

Accompanied by pianist Tyler Ramos and wearing shirts emblazoned with flora and landscapes, the eight members of Cantus made some of their strongest impressions when dividing up into smaller groups. Such as when Jacob Christopher’s high tenor soared atop “Ku’u Ipo I Ka He’e Pu’e One” or the trio of Wong, Paul Scholtz and Samuel Bohlander-Green dug into the deep end of their registers on a canon-esque “‘Imi Au Ia ‘Oe E Ke Aloha.”

But the loveliest thing offered at Tuesday’s performance in Courtroom 317 of St. Paul’s Landmark Center was Justin Ka’upu’s hybrid of the queen’s most well-known composition, “Aloha ‘Oe,” and her reflection on a visit to England for “The Queen’s Jubilee.” Its final verse was delivered by the octet with such gentleness as to be breathtaking.

Toward evening’s end, the works focused upon the sad conclusion of the monarch’s life. Particularly powerful were a piece of wistful nostalgia from the imprisoned queen courtesy of Wong and bass Chris Foss; a very pretty version of “Ka Wai ‘Apo Lani” with splendid solos from Paul John Rudoi, Christopher and Scholtz; and an encore full of low descants that delivered listeners back to the breezy place at which the concert began.

Cantus

What: “The Queen’s Songbook,” featuring music by Queen Lili’oukolani

When and where: 7:30 p.m. Wed., Museum of Russian Art, 5500 Stevens Av., Mpls.; 7:30 p.m. Thu., American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Av., Mpls.; 11 a.m. Fri., Westminster Hall, Nicollet Mall and Alice Rainville Place, Mpls.

Tickets: $5-$36, available at 612-435-0046 or cantussings.org

Note: Friday’s performance is available for streaming through July 29.

Rob Hubbard is a Twin Cities classical music writer. Reach him at wordhub@yahoo.com.

The three biggest pharmacy benefit managers will come before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability to explain their role in the increasing medication prices in the U.S., according to an announcement on Tuesday by committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).

The hearing, set for July 23, will include Adam Kautzner, president of Evernorth Care Management and Express Scripts, David Joyner, executive vice president of CVS Health and president of CVS Caremark, and Patrick Conway, CEO of OptumRx. According to Comer’s announcement, the session will probe how these pharmacy middlemen reinforce anticompetitive practices in the industry, in turn increasing prescription drug prices and compromising patient care.

Comer added in the statement that lawmakers across the aisle have “sounded the alarm” on the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBM)—and their “anticompetitive tactics”—in increasing drug prices.

“Spread pricing and rebates benefit PBMs and have helped the three largest PBMs monopolize the pharmaceutical market,” Comer continued. “It’s clear these self-benefitting practices only serve to help their bottom line rather than patients.”

Also on Tuesday, the Federal District Court of Hawaii tossed the state’s lawsuit alleging that the three biggest PBMs were artificially and unlawfully hiking drug prices. Hawaii’s state attorney general has 45 days to file an amended complaint.

The state of Hawaii sued the top three PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx—in October 2023, claiming that they employed unlawful business practices, which in turn “have driven skyrocketing prices for brand-name prescription medications.” Among the practices that the lawsuit named was charging pharma companies rebates in exchange for favorable formulary placements for their drugs.

PBMs also charged drugmakers several other fees, none of which helped lower drug prices for patients at the point of sale, the lawsuit alleged. “Pay-to-play practices directly harm consumers both by artificially inflating the price of medications and by restricting consumers’ access to medications that could save or greatly increase the quality of their lives,” deputy attorney general Ciara Kahahane said at the time.

These double developments on Tuesday come amid mounting scrutiny of PBMs. Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published an interim report showing that the top three PBMs handled nearly 80% of all prescriptions dispensed by pharmacies across the country. The antitrust watchdog also found that these middlemen “can hike the cost of drugs” and overcharge patients for cancer therapies, according to FTC Chair Lina Khan.

A few days later, The Wall Street Journal reported that the FTC was gearing up to sue CVS Caremark, OptumRx and Express Scripts over alleged anticompetitive practices.