Will you be spending a significant amount of time offroad? If the answer is no, I would recommend against anything with a suspension. Seems like your instinct was correct. Suspensions do more harm than good if you're going to do anything approaching serious road riding (which it sounds like you will).

As far as disc brakes go, they're by no means necessary. Rim brakes work pretty well. Don't listen to anybody saying disc brakes have better "stopping power" than rim brakes - stopping power comes from where the rubber hits the road, not if you can lock the wheel up with your pinky. They do have their advantages - in poor (muddy/wet) conditions, they're more consistent, and on long descents (which you may run into, in California), there's no chance of the brakes overheating the rim and causing a blowout. They can be a bit fiddly to set up, though.

It sounds like a touring bike might be what you want. Trek has the 520, and there are some other models (Jamis Aurora, Surly Long Haul Trucker) that might be worth checking out. Although if you're doing 30 miles a day, an FX or other hybrid would probably be sufficient.