After Mayor Luke Ravenstahl appeared before the Ethics Hearing Board last month to explain his participation in a charity golf outing in which his $9,000 fee was picked up by the Pittsburgh Penguins and UPMC, we despaired that the mayor just didn't get it as he gave his unapologetic explanation.

For a young public official hailed by some as the vanguard of a fresh generation, it was ironically a very stale Pittsburgh moment, steeped in the old ways of thinking that never paid much heed to appearances of impropriety or conflicts of interest.

Just as same old, same old seemed to reign supreme, some people showed they did get it -- and they were the members of the city's Ethics Hearing Board who had interviewed Mr. Ravensthal on Aug. 21.

What they did was send a letter to the mayor. The letter told him that he had not violated ethics rules barring gifts from parties with dealings with the city -- a correct finding because, as we have noted before, an exception exists for charitable events. It even encouraged the mayor to continue supporting charities.

At the same time, it sounded the same warning as the Post-Gazette.

"We are concerned, however, that attendance by city officials at certain types of charitable events, while technically in conformity with the city Ethics Code, can be misunderstood by the public." The board said it had in mind "exclusive events where the price of admission is above the means of most city residents, and where the cost of admission is underwritten by an 'interested party.' " Even if no quid pro quo was granted, the letter said, "the perception of favoritism or privileged access may persist ..."

Amen. Helpfully, the letter also suggested a remedy. The city should amend its ethics code to requite that invitations to charitable events come only from the charity, rather than "an interested party" -- which, in our view, is a distinction with an important difference. It also wants the board to change the code to give it an advisory role in answering ethical questions as they arise.

These are good suggestions that Mr. Ravenstahl should accept. It would be a way of showing he is more than a fresh face -- and that he has the fresh, enlightened thinking that Pittsburgh so desperately needs.