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LATE-BREAKING STORY:

The Miami Herald Building will not be designated historic, paving the way for demolition by casino giant Genting.

Absentee Ballot Tally For South Florida

In Florida, it's safe to say that voting in the presidential election this year was a disaster.

As we all know, voting lines during early voting and through to Election Day were several hours long. In fact, while President Obama was giving his victory speech, some polls were still open in Miami-Dade because there were people still waiting in line to vote.

A billion-dollar passenger rail project, due to break ground next year, will be whisking business travelers and tourists between Miami and Orlando at top speed by some time in 2015.

Plans call for stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach on the way from Miami to Orlando International Airport with a spur line connecting the beaches of Brevard County to the system.

Cost and benefits? According to the Sun Sentinel, $1 billion, 1,600 jobs and a three-hour trip -- much quicker than you could make at the wheel of your own car.

Botero, Matisse, Picasso and countless others have their boarding passes and are ready to go.

Just minutes after Art Basel closed down Sunday night, the business of packing up the artwork for transport begins.

"It's a very delicate operation," says Robert Landau of Landau Fine Arts.

"Everything gets packed up by our own staff. And we load them on our dedicated truck and it leaves here before midnight [on Sunday]," says Landau.

The assorted farewells to Art Basel in the national press this morning leave a variety of impressions, not all of them positive, of Miami's big festival of art, celebrity and wealth.

Let's start with the Wall Street Journal, which left regretting its descent into the classic loop of insanity -- doing the same thing and hoping for different results:

Republicans are upset that the president wants the debt ceiling included in budget talks. Meanwhile, former Republican Governor Charlie Crist switches parties.  

Details from WLRN-Miami Herald News:

It's official, folks. Former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist is now a Democrat.

Last week, we gave you Trina Sargalski's tips on the pop-up food venues that will disappear with the end of Art Basel. Today is the last day for those places.

But it's not just the last day of Art Basel. It's Sunday. In December.  And if you're trying to figure out how to juggle art, football and a reasonable blood sugar level , here are few places that may satisfy all three, in close proximity to the various fairs. 

Forbes Magazine is bringing its curtain down on Art Basel with a searching examination of the art fair's founding idea versus its current evolution.

Forbes writer Tamara Warren concludes that our Art Basel -- though conceived as a New World counterpart to the refined Art Basel of Switzerland -- has become an art industry event rather than a real celebration of art. Not that there's anything wrong with that, she says: it just developed to reflect its Miami surroundings.

"Good afternoon! Welcome! Hi, good afternoon! Do you have a floor plan? Okay! Enjoy!"

We asked Art Basel Miami greeter Angela Geter, (that's right -- she's Geter The Greeter) what it takes to excel at her role.

"A great smile and a great personality," says Geter.

And that's it?

"That's it!" she replies with a thousand-watt smile.

Geter is a greeter inside the main entrance to the Miami Beach Convention Center. 

"No disappointment. We've had a very successful fair."

For New York gallerist Christophe Van de Weghe, the highlight of this year's Art Basel was the sale of an Andy Warhol painting of the Statue of Liberty.

We're scouring Twitter for some brief, but opinionated, feeds on what people think about Art Basel. Here are some gems we've found:

So the skinny on Art Basel Miami is that there is a LOT of weird, shocking, depressing and generally morbid stuff out there called art

— Lisa Kahn (@LisaLKahn) December 7, 2012

Here is a compilation of some different videos from Art Basel 2012 in Miami. Each video tours some galleries you may have missed and some videos even feature interviews with the artists.

Check it out below!

We're taking a look this morning at the parting shots of the world's journalists as Art Basel reaches its opulent and glittery conclusion in Miami.

It was great, most of them say: Bigger and more lucrative than ever and ultimately a testament to the supremacy of art over glitter.

The street artist Invader first landed in Miami in 2010 and returned in August of this year. You may recognize some of his tiled space invaders that have popped up across the city (like on the side of the new Miami Children's Museum).

This guest post comes to us from Florencia Jimenez-Marcos.

Is it art?

There is no easy way to define "art." Any attempt at simplification risks making the writer sound uninformed at best. There are countless experts and publications who have created an industry debating what is true art, though the discourse these days seems to center more on economic rather than artistic value.

Stuck at your home or office for Art Basel weekend?  Fret no more because we have summed up the hottest social media spots to place you front and center in the galleries and parties. 

Hashtags To Follow On Twitter

#ArtBasel

#ABMB

#ArtBaselMiami

#ArtBasel2012

#ArtBaselProblems

#OverheardAtBasel

#BaselPic

People To Follow On Instagram (According To Guest Of A Guest)

@blkdnm - Johan Lindeburg

Thanks to @ScottLinnen on Twitter, view this exclusive clip of Baslers driving around Art Basel style:

Kafka'n dope bugs everywhere. #ArtBaselMiami youtube.com/watch?v=3sKDln…

— Wile E. Quixote (@ScottLinnen) December 8, 2012

Art Basel goer @kbmiami tweeted an overheard comment:

Someone just told me #artbasel is like spring break for the over 40 crowd.A week of constant & decadent partying.#ABMB @wlrn

— Karen Burkett (@kbmiami) December 8, 2012

[Message from Arianna Prothero]: Not sure if it's supposed to be art or not, but Pulse Art Fair has several red hammocks strung up in its courtyard. whatever the intent/purpose, they sure do make a great place to relax and digest all that art you've been looking at (or nurse a hangover).

You'll find the Pulse at 1400 N. Miami Ave. It's open until 7 p. m. today and from 11 a. m. to 5 p. m. Sunday. General admission is $20, $15 for seniors and students and $10 each in groups of 10.

Shoppers from every financial stratum are stalking Art Basel, which the New York Times is characterizing as among "the most glamorous doorbuster sales in history."

But the man from the very apex of the art food chain is glaringly missing. Hedge fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen has not been seen and the sinking feeling in the pit of many a gallery owner's stomach is that legal issues related to a supposed insider trading scheme at Cohen's own firm may have sidelined one of art's richest and most reliable collectors.

Tweeter @EstrellaSibila expresses her frustration with fellow Baslers:

Need to see more art and less party people! #artbaselproblems

— Counselor @SibilaLaw (@EstrellaSibila) December 8, 2012

Ba·sel [bah-zuhl] verb: To visit and enjoy the Art Basel event creatively, knowledgeably and efficiently.

Baseling is an acquired skill arising from  the instant culture that has enveloped Miami Beach and the downtown Art District. There is much to see and do at Art Basel -- perhaps too much -- and the prospect can be daunting without proper guidance.

Enter Twitter.