Nassau jail cleans up its act

It took the lure of a few million dollars to resolve a long standoff between the state and Nassau County officials over conditions at the jail. Until last week, the state Commission of Correction wouldn't allow Nassau to rent any cells to Suffolk County. However, with a big budget hole, Nassau needs the $4.6 million that housing the inmates could bring. And with its jails full and some prisoners farmed out to Rikers Island, Suffolk needs the space. But state officials said no deal until Nassau corrected violations such as mold and its questionable use of solitary confinement. Some problems went back to 2008. They should have been fixed long ago. But within weeks after the deal was blocked, Nassau made enough progress to win a green light from the state. Forty-six Suffolk inmates are now in Nassau, with more to follow. In this collision of money and inertia, money won.