The county's ten-year plan to end homelessness, obviously a term more aspirational than realistic, took another backslide yesterday when the annual One-Night Count of the county's homeless showed that the number of homeless people sleeping outdoors in King County actually ticked up slightly this year, increasing from 2,442 to 2,594.

Noting that the annual street count is "only a snapshot," Committee to End Homelessness director Bill Block said in a statement, "Even in the face of the recession, we know that our investments can reduce the number of people who are homeless -- that happened last year and the year before."

However, the original goal of the Ten-Year Plan was to "end homelessness in King County by 2014," at which point, the plan continues, there should be no need for outdoor encampments like Tent City, a much-reduced emergency service system (because most people will move quickly from homelessness into housing), and "immediate access to housing" for people who become homeless.