Here's the gotcha: 
        # Put in HTML-friendly characters for any odd characters
        &ncw_com_library::cleanup($attr_descr);

[download]

You expect your cleanup() subroutine to do inplace edits of its argument, instead it takes a copy and returns it modified. Your $attr_descr doesn't get altered.

Don't use the & prefix for sub calls, unless you know what it does and you need that because you do know ;-) 

        # Put in HTML-friendly characters for any odd characters
        $attr_descr = ncw_com_library::cleanup($attr_descr);

[download]

--shmem 

_($_=" "x(1<<5)."?\n".q·/)Oo.  G°\        /
                              /\_¯/(q    /
----------------------------  \__(m.====·.(_("always off the crowd"))."·
");sub _{s./.($e="'Itrs `mnsgdq Gdbj O`qkdq")=~y/"-y/#-z/;$e.e && print}

In reply to Re: Trouble Getting Local Variable $_ to return reformatted string by shmem
in thread Trouble Getting Local Variable $_ to return reformatted string by Anonymous Monk

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