local $/ = '%%%';
# Assume 'FH' is input file, opened elswhere
my @records;
while(my $line = <FH>) {
    $line =~ s/%%%//;

    # Remove any beginning or trailing whitespace
    # NOTE: Using \A and \z instead of ^ and $ is critical
    $line =~ s/\A \s*  (.*?)  \s* \z/$1/x;

    my %rec = split /[:\n]/, $line;
    push @records, \%rec;
}