EDITORIAL: 2016 presidential debate a multifaceted boon for Nevada

The selection of UNLV as host site for next fall's final presidential debate is a mighty big deal for reasons that go well beyond exposure.

Yes, journalists from around the world will stay on the Strip and report from the UNLV campus in the days leading up to the Oct. 19, 2016, event at the Thomas & Mack Center. Yes, tens of millions of people will watch the debate on TV just days before early voting begins around the nation. The forum simultaneously will elevate the profile of UNLV and serve as a global advertisement for the city as a tourism and convention destination.

But last week's decision by the Commission on Presidential Debates to let Las Vegas host the final direct interaction between the major-party presidential nominees — a bid funded by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority — also ensures that the campaign's homestretch will address issues of vital importance to Nevada and the West.

Battleground Nevada, which already has a significant role in the nominating process by virtue of February's first-in-the-West caucus, will greatly influence the general election, too.

The debate's questions will be up to the moderator, who won't be named for some time. But such events seldom ignore the interests of the host community, and there will be no shortage of hot-button Western topics to toss to the candidates. Among them:

— Immigration. Beyond proposals outlining who can come to the United States and who can stay, how would candidates help states disproportionately burdened by illegal immigration cover the fiscal costs of federal policy failures?

— Water. What would each candidate do as president if the level of drought-ravaged Lake Mead, the reservoir that supplies Las Vegas with most of its potable water, falls so low that water can't be released downstream to Arizona, California and Mexico?

— Land use. Will either candidate support releasing vast tracts of federal land to states to help them develop their economies? Will either candidate favor giving Washington even more control of Western lands?

— Energy. The West is rich with fossil fuels and renewable resources. How much should be developed? When should federal subsidies be cut off?

Cost of hosting the debate: $4 million. The answers to these and other questions: priceless.