Gov. Ron DeSantis reportedly sent two planes of undocumented migrants to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts on Wednesday, joining Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in sending migrants to sanctuary cities, per Fox News.

Why it matters: It's an escalation of Republican governors' standoff with President Biden over his immigration and border policies — aimed at forcing predominantly Democratic-run states to grapple with social safety-net issues.

Between the lines: DeSantis appeared to target Massachusetts, which has a Republican governor, because state and local leaders have expressed support for policies that benefit immigrants regardless of their status.

Driving the news: Some 50 migrants believed to be from Venezuela arrived by charter plane at Martha's Vineyard Airport on Wednesday afternoon, per multiple reports.

• Flight records indicated they'd flown from San Antonio, Texas, and stopped off in Florida's panhandle before arriving on the Massachusetts island that's a favorite destination for wealthy and powerful Americans, Boston's WCVB-TV notes.
• Some of the migrants said they had begun the trip in San Antonio, but DeSantis' office had taken responsibility for the flights, the New York Times reports.

What's happening: Terry MacCormack, a spokesperson for Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R), said in an emailed statement that the governor's office was "in touch with local officials regarding the arrival of migrants in Martha’s Vineyard."

What they're saying: "States like Massachusetts, New York and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as 'sanctuary states' and support for the Biden administration’s open border policies," Taryn Fenske, DeSantis' communications director, told Fox News.

The other side: State Rep. Dylan Fernandes, who represents Martha's Vineyard, tweeted Wednesday evening that the migrants "were not met with chaos, they were met with compassion."

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Sarasota-based Eco-$mart president Matt Ross has heard the same refrain for 30 years as he has tried to convince builders to use more sustainable, earth-friendly, energy-efficient products.

• "Pioneers get arrows in the back."

In other words: Even if a greener product makes financial sense, builders are slow to switch. Nobody wants to go first.

Yes, but: COVID might've changed all that.

What's happening: The spike in the cost of construction materials and the rising cost of labor has opened the door for a new type of house built out of insulated panels that takes a five-person team one week to assemble, Ross tells Axios.

• Secure-Lock Structural Insulated Panels are high-performance building panels that use expanded polystyrene foam insulation sandwiched between steel skins.
• And builders are catching on. Ross points to a townhome project going up now at 1261 Park Street in Clearwater that's using them.

Details: Eco-$mart offers to build energy-efficient homes safe from hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, pests and mold for a fraction of the cost of conventional new construction.

The big picture: Ross will showcase the panels and other cutting-edge sustainable housing technology at the Environmental Design Conference Sept. 22-23, hosted by New College of Florida and the Sarasota chapter of the Interior Design Society.

More event info

Sen. Marco Rubio is co-sponsoring a bill that would ban abortions at 15 weeks in any state that doesn't have tighter restrictions. (Orlando Sentinel)

🚔 An independent investigation has cleared Bradenton police Chief Melanie Bevan of the criminal wrongdoing alleged by a former officer. (Bradenton Herald)

🐊 After $10 million earmarked for its project was cut from the state budget, a nonprofit is looking elsewhere for funding to help restore the Homosassa River, which is facing a 90% loss of native vegetation due to an invasion by Lyngbya algae. (Citrus County Chronicle)

⛴ Round-trip water taxi service between downtown Bradenton and Anna Maria Island could start as early as February and will operate two pontoon-style taxis on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. (Anna Maria Island Sun)

💧 North Port leaders have chosen a developer to transform Warm Mineral Springs into a resort hotel and spa, restaurant, and destination residences. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)

Quote du jour:

"There's people out there that just — doesn't make sense why they do the things they do. I can't quite wrap my head around it."

Vū Studio, which started out at University Mall in Tampa, has opened its fourth virtual production studio in Orlando.

Flashback: The studio raised a historic seed round funded heavily by Orlando investors.

• Founders Tim Moore and Jonathan Davila have since opened studios in Las Vegas and Nashville.
• They also donated cutting edge virtual production technology to the University of Tampa.

What's new: Since Orlando is the new center of the metaverse, this location will have new metaverse capabilities, the company announced at the studio's opening last week. Those include:

• Digital Twin Environment Simulation, the creation of photo-realistic 3D assets filmmakers can shoot against instead of shutting down a retail location to do the same shoot.
• 3D Environment Scanning, the use of LIDAR scanning or photogrammetry technology to scan a physical environment and bring it into the virtual studio.

💼 Check out who's hiring now.

1. Director, Technical Success at circleci.
2. Technical Co-Founder at esteam.ai.
3. Senior Living Community Manager at Resort Lifestyle Communities.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job.

🏈 If Week 1 was any indication, we're in for another thrilling season. Nine of the 16 games were decided by one score, including seven by a field goal or less.

The Bills sit atop our first power rankings after dismantling the reigning champs, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

• The Bucs — who crushed the Cowboys Sunday to open the season at 1-0 behind 45-year-old, seven-time Super Bowl-winning Tom Brady — are at third with a long season to go.

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