San Francisco Chronicle

Light and airy are not adjectives usually applied to this gray and dour capital. But light and airy are apt words for its effervescent new Parliament building. And the cost also is so lighter-than-air: nearly $800 million, or 10 times the original target. Who knew that the Scots, of all people, could be so heedless with their purse strings? The bill works out to about $160 for every resident. After six years of construction and enormous controversy over its site, design and budget, the Scottish Parliament building seems as if it was always destined to be hailed by some and railed against by others. One thing is certain: If Scotland -- which received "devolved" powers from London five years ago, nearly three centuries after losing its independence -- eventually progresses to a free state in the way some Scottish nationalists would like, at least its world-class Parliament building will be ready.