PITTSBURGH — The city's Ethics Hearing Board wants Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to explain why he attended a charity golf outing as a guest of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

UPMC paid $27,000 for the mayor and two hospital officials to attend last month's Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational, which benefits the Mario Lemieux Foundation for cancer and other medical research.

Noting that UPMC has multimillion-dollar contracts with the city, the board said the mayor may have violated city and state ethics rules or created the appearance of impropriety.

"We don't want to stop involvement in charitable activity, but something that's worth $27,000 does, I think, seem to the average citizen, to be a perk," said Kathy Buechel, the board's vice chairwoman.

George Specter, acting city solicitor, said the mayor did not violate any ethics code. The rules exempt charity events, he said.

SHARON — A woman committed suicide in the holding cell of the Sharon Police Department, state police said.Brandi Jean Thomas, 26, of Sharon, killed herself Friday between 7:45 and 10:45 a.m., state police said. They did not say how she died.Thomas had been picked up for an alleged parole violation and was awaiting transport to the Mercer County Jail, according to police.