PITTSBURGH — The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said it is shutting down a Pittsburgh hospital's transplant program due to a mold problem that may have contributed to the deaths of three transplant patients.

UPMC said Monday that after consulting with the nonprofit that manages the nation's transplant system, it was “voluntarily and temporarily” suspending all organ transplant operations at UMPC Presbyterian.

UPMC said a fourth patient discovered to have a fungal situation is in guarded condition.

Officials said they are working with health officials and fungal specialists, and a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be in Pittsburgh today.

PITTSBURGH — A hospitality trade group has joined four restaurants and a cleaning service in a lawsuit seeking to overturn a Pittsburgh ordinance requiring city employers to provide paid sick leave.The Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association has teamed up with other businesses in the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.The measure adopted by the city council in August requires employers with at least 15 workers offer as much as five paid sick days per year to each worker. Those with fewer than 15 employees must offer three unpaid days off.The lawsuit calls the bill unconstitutional and argues that the city has violated the statutory limits of its power. It asks the court to void the ordinance.

BIG BEAVER — FirstEnergy plans to spend $48 million to expand a Western Pennsylvania substation to ensure Penn Power customers continue to get enough electricity from a regional grid.Company spokesman Doug Colafella said that the move comes “in response to announced retirements of power plants in the area.”PJM Interconnection, which runs the grid, asked FirstEnergy to expand the substation because it determined the grid's electrical supply won't meet demand after the plants close.Colafella said FirstEnergy hopes to complete the expansion by June 1.

ERIE — Erie's school board is open to the possibility of temporarily shutting down district operations if it can't pay employees because of the state government's entrenched budget stalemate.The decision came Monday during a special board meeting to consider the idea from Superintendent Jay Badams.The board passed a resolution saying that it was giving Badams the authority to act on any option available if the district can no longer pay employees.Badams said the alternative is borrowing about $30 million to keep the schools open through December. He estimated that the cost of borrowing would be around $200,000. He said students could make up lost days later.