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David Shapiro has covered Hawaii news as a reporter, editor and columnist for four decades. His column, "Volcanic Ash," has appeared in The Honolulu Advertiser since 2001.

Shapiro, 60, joined the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in Hilo in 1968 as an editorial assistant. He covered city and state government on Oahu before returning to Hilo for a six-year stint as Big Island correspondent.

He went to Washington, D.C., in 1978 to cover Hawaii's congressional delegation, as well as national energy and space issues, and later became news editor of Gannett News Service. He set up a California regional news wire for Gannett Newspapers in 1986 before returning to Hawaii in 1987 as managing editor of the Star-Bulletin, a position he held until he became disabled from multiple sclerosis in 2000.

"Volcanic Ash" is a three-time winner of the Hawaii Publishers Association Pa'i Award for best editorial column. The column was also honored three times for Excellence in Journalism by the Society of Professional Journalists, Hawaii Chapter, which inducted him into its hall of fame in 2001. The Honolulu Community Media Council honored Shapiro with its 2001 Fletcher Knebel Award for community service.

Shapiro has conducted news writing and editing workshops at more than a dozen newspapers across the country and is currently an editor of the online literary journal flashquake. He is a graduate of Hilo High School and the University of Hawaii. He was named a distinguished alumnus of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. He can be reached by e-mail at dave@volcanicash.net.