VX News is the editorial voice of the annual VerdeXchange Conference, featuring in-depth interviews with industry leaders and policymakers driving innovation in clean energy, water, transportation, and climate policy.
VX2026 "Affordable Housing: Is the Model Broken?": Bob Hertzberg’s Ballot-Box Missing Middle Fix
In this excerpt from VX2026's plenary "Affordable Housing: Is the Model Broken?", Robert Hertzberg, the former California State Senate Majority Leader and Senior Advisor at Mission Possible Partnership, moves past the familiar catalog of what's broken toward what he's actually building: a November 2026 ballot measure aimed squarely at the "missing middle" – the working families priced out of both subsidized affordable housing and market-rate ownership (a Revenue Bond to be paid back by homebuyers’ mortgage payments). Read along as Hertzberg lays out the five categories of housing he sees and delivers a verdict on why California's existing housing dollars aren't reaching the people they're meant to. A recording of the entire plenary can be found here.
Inside ReMo Homes: Founder Vamsi Kumar Kotla’s Supply-Side Housing Play for California
As California confronts overlapping wildfire rebuilding pressures, housing shortages, and climate adaptation challenges, standardized off-site construction is gaining renewed policy and market attention. In conversation, ReMo Homes Founder & CEO Vamsi Kumar Kotla discusses the statewide approval of SupReMo™, a pre-engineered housing model designed to streamline permitting, reduce soft costs, and accelerate scalable housing delivery.
Plant Prefab’s Moment: Steve Glenn on Post-Fire Rebuilds, New Commercial Ventures, and Market Signals
As wildfire rebuilding, affordability pressures, and labor constraints converge, off-site construction is moving from niche solution to market necessity. In this interview, Founder and CEO of Plant Prefab, Steve Glenn, reflects on two decades in industrialized housing, tracing how prefab has evolved from design experimentation to a delivery-driven business shaped by automation, permitting frameworks, and capital discipline.
Keeping Our Children in California: Hertzberg on the Middle-Class Homeownership Act
Former California Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg is championing the proposed Middle-Class Homeownership and Family Home Construction Act, a 2026 ballot initiative aimed at expanding housing opportunities for middle-income Californians.
50L Home Pilot Offers Roadmap for Policy, Funding, and Cultural Change
VX News highlights the U.S. Green Building Council California’s (USGBC-CA) published results from its 50 Liter Home pilot project in Los Angeles—a proof-of-concept and replicable model showing how households can achieve dramatic water savings while maintaining comfort and quality of life.