What is the best way to search for references to individuals in a
specific area, e.g. Greater San Diego City, San Diego County, and/or
specific locations and cities within San Diego County?  Should I use
commas to separate place/state locations (e.g., name, La Jolla,
California)?  I'm trying to develop prospect research business and
distilling search for information on specific names very important. 
Thanks for response

You need to put phrases in quotes e.g. "Tim Jones" "New York". Also
preceed any word or phrase with a plus sign - this means the search
result must have this word/phrase in. e.g. +"Tim Jones" +"New York".
You might also want to add a word that is applicable to their business
area e.g. +arts. Also consider using state code rather than the name
of the state.

If you are getting too many hits then consider using the minus sign
(-) to eliminate some hits e.g. -consultant.

Hope this is of some use.

ThumbHammer