Victoria Cuba, a recent graduate of Waipahu High School, is quick to smile, loves music and wants to become a storyteller. And her bedroom is the back of a truck ― she and her family are homeless.

Sharon L. Hicks knew something was wrong with her mother when she started locking 4-year-old Sharon out of the house when she was four years old. Her mother was bipolar and schizophrenic, while her father, a well-known housing contractor, was a pillar of the Honolulu community. Sharon sought normalcy her whole life, and while she swore she would never be like her mother, she found herself making some of the same mistakes. In her conversation with Leslie Wilcox, Sharon talks openly about her mother's mental illness, and the insights she's gained from it.

Growing up in Kailua, Maile Meyer was surrounded by a family that embraced anyone who walked through their door. Now, as the owner of Native Books, Maile has taken that tradtion of gathering and applied it to building a Hawaiian community of artists and storytellers.

Jim Burns says that you really have to live your own life, and find your own niche and your own space. His father, John Burns was elected Governor of Hawaii in 1962. By then, Jim Burns had finished law school. Hear how he tried, and did find his own path. Original Air Date: Tues., August 19, 2014

In 1921, a young Sandy Low was sent away from his home in Kohala to attend school in Connecticut. He never returned to Hawaii.

Paula Fuga is not a household name yet. But this local girl, who showed up at the auditions for American Idol wearing a T-shirt reading ‘Big Girls Rock’ and who was named the Na Hoku Hanohano Most Promising Artist of the Year - is making a name for herself. Something you should know right off the top about this 28-year-old rising local star. She knows what it’s like to be a child living in a tent, homeless, on a beach. And helping others is part of who she is. Paula’s last name is spelled f-u-g-a and it’s pronounced ‘funga.’

John Rampage got the performing bug early in life. As a young boy, he acted on stage and danced classical ballet, and at one point, even considered dance as a career.

On this episode of Long Story Short, Leslie Wilcox sits down to share stories with Hawaii Island farmer Richard Ha. Never heard of him? Well, Richard Ha isn’t your average farmer. He’s been called a visionary farmer. An innovative small business owner, Ha offers his employees profit sharing, has found a way to generate electricity on his property outside of Hilo, initiated an adopt-a-class program at Keaukaha Elementary School, advocates native Hawaiian practices of ahupua‘a and writes a blog on his website.

If you know the name Mamo, it’s probably because Mamo Howell is one of Hawaii’s most successful fashion designers and retailers. Quite an accomplishment for a woman - half Hawaiian - who started her business in her 40s. But that’s not where Mamo’s story began. As a teenager she danced hula in Waikiki to help support her family and later became a high-fashion model, strutting on runways in New York and Paris. Hawaii’s first top model.

On the day Robert Iopa graduated from Waiakea High School with a 1.7 grade point average, his grandmother looked at him with dismay.  “I mean, she literally was looking at me almost with tears in her eyes, saying, ‘So, what are you gonna do now?’” Iopa remembers.