The overarching point, or goal, is to replace all the hard-coded style with CSS classes (or IDs, if/where appropriate). I identified clr_highlight as one such style parameter which could easily be replaced with CSS. It is only one small step toward the goal, but it's an easy one, a viable first step. The patches (Red CSS - (patch) and kin) are only one half of this first step; the second half is to modify those places where clr_highlight is used to use the CSS classes (tr.post_head, tr.highlight, table.highlight) instead.

Do we need to talk about why CSS is better than hard-coded style?