La Cañada High senior helps draft e-cigarette regulations during summer internship

While many teens returned to La Cañada High School Wednesday full of tales about fun summer plans and trips, only senior Doug Williams could boast of having drafted citywide regulations that could become law.

As a junior, Williams applied for a coveted spot in the summer internship program sponsored by the local chamber of commerce, now in its fifth year. After a rigorous round of interviews with local employers, he was selected for a six-week stint at La Cañada Flintridge City Hall.

“I was looking for something to do over the summer, and the internship seemed like something productive,” he recalled.

Now, amendments to the city’s municipal code restricting the use of electronic cigarettes in public spaces and changing the way businesses sell the devices throughout La Cañada may be the fruit of Williams’ efforts.

The chamber’s internship program lets students work on projects that make an impact in the community as they build experiences and relationships that will serve them in college and the world of work, according to Pat Anderson, president and executive chief of the LCF Chamber of Commerce.

Interns earn $1,200 scholarships after completing work assignments and attending several city and chamber functions. They must also prepare a public presentation highlighting their experience and what they’ve learned. The best presenter receives an additional $800, according to Anderson.

“It’s not answering phones, or filing papers and running around,” she explained. “These jobs have, in many cases over the past five years, been life-changing.”

Williams was asked to examine sections of the city’s municipal code pertaining to smoking in public and research potentially hazardous effects associated with electronic cigarettes and vaping devices.

The teen then drafted language that would potentially restrict or prohibit the use of e-cigarettes in certain public areas. Another amendment would require businesses selling the devices to apply for a tobacco retailer’s license that could be suspended if employees were caught selling to minors, he explained.

It’s a relevant matter at a time when most teens have come to casually accept e-cigarettes as safe, according to Williams.

“Most people generally think they’re much safer than traditional cigarettes, and many people think they’re completely safe and pose no danger at all,” he said, explaining how the devices emit aerosol containing harmful particulate matter.

Under supervision, Williams has presented his research and recommendations before the Youth Council and Public Safety Commission. Ultimately, after further refinements are made, the matter will be heard by the City Council.

To fill his down time in between meetings, the intern also designed a presentation to fill an empty display case at Lanterman Auditorium. The end product is a pictorial history of the city’s formation as well as an exhibit on the statewide drought and local conservation efforts.

Williams, who’s considering international relations and computer science as possible areas of study in college, said he initially had no preference of where he hoped to work.

In addition to the city of La Cañada Flintridge, this year’s employers of local interns included the YMCA of the Foothills, Citizens Business Bank and Allen Lund Co.. Those companies selected La Cañada High School students Jenny Callan, Mica Bernhard and Jack Nagel, respectively, according to Anderson.

It’s no surprise to Eric Williams, Doug Williams’ father, that his son was selected for the internship opening at City Hall — in 2012, elder son Maxwell earned the same distinction.

“The whole program has been fantastic for both of our sons,” he said. “It’s really been a wonderful experience.”

In the end, Doug Williams said his time at City Hall taught him about teamwork, the professional world and how to see projects through to their conclusion.

“There’s almost nowhere else you can get an experience like this while you’re in high school,” he said.

--

Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine