Will Van Sant joined the St. Petersburg Times in September 2002, after working in the South Jersey bureau of the Philadelphia Inquirer for two years. He has covered government and politics for the Times and is now a general assignment reporter focused on the impact of the recession. He also serves as a resource for colleagues seeking to obtain and interpret public records. Van Sant graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis, Md., in 1998, and from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 2000.

Phone: (727) 445-4166

E-mail: vansant@sptimes.com